Minister orders contractor's arrest over N14bn road project

Nigeria's Minister of Works, David Umahi, has ordered the arrest of the Managing Director of Hartland Nigeria Limited. The minister took this drastic action during an on-the-spot inspection of the Benin-Onitsha Expressway. Hartland Nigeria Limited is accused of failing to complete an 11-kilometer section of the road, despite receiving approximately N14 billion from the Federal Government.

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We paid them up to N14bn and when I paid them that money, we reached an agreement that we were going to finish 11 kilometres from the Summit Junction to this bridge with the money I am paying you, and then do channelisation and hydraulic structures. But today, they have just done about 40 per cent of the agreement.

Umahi expressed significant anger over the project's poor state and the contractor's alleged non-delivery. He stated that an agreement was made for Hartland to use the N14 billion to finish the 11km stretch from Summit Junction to a bridge, including necessary channelization and hydraulic structures. However, the contractor has reportedly completed only about 40 percent of the agreed work.

"We paid them up to N14bn and when I paid them that money, we reached an agreement that we were going to finish 11 kilometres from the Summit Junction to this bridge with the money I am paying you, and then do channelisation and hydraulic structures. But today, they have just done about 40 per cent of the agreement," Umahi said.

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I am going to look for him to arrest him.

The minister directed the ministry's controller to locate and arrest the managing director. He also instructed officials to retrieve all payment and certificate details for projects handled by Hartland. Umahi warned that the government would take steps to recover funds if the company fails to meet its contractual obligations. He further ordered directors to contact the banks involved to recover the money and announced that Hartland would be sanctioned.

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I want the directors to call up the MPG immediately. You have to write to the banks to pay us that money. We are going to sanction Hartland. This is not acceptable.

Additionally, Umahi ordered an inspection of bridges and a one-kilometer section of the road to assess immediate measures for traffic congestion relief. He blamed contractor negligence for the worsening conditions, emphasizing that minor interventions could have eased motorist hardship. Umahi instructed ministry controllers nationwide to ensure contractors maintain roads under construction, regardless of payment status, stating that situations like this should not be allowed to worsen.

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If a project is going on, whether there is payment or not, you cannot allow the situation of the road to be like this. It is your responsibility to at least insist for stone base to be used to fill these places.