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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Energy & Infrastructure

The neglected federal highways

From ThisDay · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Opinion Named sources Ongoing story
  • The Niger Delta Development Commission has begun reconstructing failed sections of the 15.4-kilometre Sapele-Benin Expressway after severe disruption on the Benin-Asaba route.
  • Poor roads stranded motorists for hours or days, with some travellers spending eight hours on a 50-minute journey and three days travelling from Benin to Asaba.
  • Communities and officials are calling for broader repairs as deterioration affects major federal highways across Nigeria.

Travellers on Nigeria’s Benin-Asaba route spent up to three days on a journey that should take less than two hours. Some slept in buses with their children, while hungry passengers looking for food and water turned Agbor into a temporary night market.

The crisis has prompted another emergency intervention. The Niger Delta Development Commission began reconstructing failed sections of the 15.4-kilometre Sapele-Benin Expressway, a key corridor linking the South-South region with other parts of Nigeria. NDDC Managing Director Samuel Ogbuku apologised to residents, community leaders and commuters for the prolonged hardship.

A board representative urged the commission to extend the work to the Amukpe-Abraka-Agbor and Sapele-Warri roads, which have also severely deteriorated. Works Minister David Umahi visited the worst sections of the Benin-Asaba road and apologised after the gridlock left motorists stranded for hours or days. Travellers reportedly spent eight hours reaching Warri, a trip that normally takes 50 minutes.

We are the goose that lays the golden egg, but that goose has almost been starved.

— Godknows IgaliThe Pan Niger Delta Forum chairman describing the region’s complaints about poor infrastructure and unequal treatment.

The concessionaire awarded the Benin-Asaba project in 2025 has left the highway in worse condition, the commentary says. Senator Adams Oshiomhole accused Umahi of deliberately neglecting roads in Edo and Delta states. Godknows Igali, chairman of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, said the region produces wealth for the country but is struggling to maintain internal connections.

The problem extends beyond one route. Large sections of Nigeria’s roughly 200,183-kilometre road network are riddled with craters and potholes. Residents and commuters on the 9th Mile-Obollo Affor-Makurdi highway and the Eha-Nkalagu road say abandoned roads expose them to kidnapping, vehicle breakdowns and dust pollution. The Benin-Auchi, Port Harcourt-Aba-Enugu, Ikot Ekpene-Umuahia and Calabar-Itu-Uyo highways also need attention, while the concentration of resources on the Coastal Road is drawing questions.

We only demand, and rightly so, to be treated with fairness and equity. It is becoming almost impossible to connect within the South-South.

— Godknows IgaliHis appeal for better roads across Nigeria’s South-South region.
About this summary

Originally published by ThisDay in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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