Abuja-Keffi Express Way: Umahi fires Works Controller, warns contractor over road project

By John Alechenu

The Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, has ordered the immediate removal of the Controller of Works supervising the Mararaba-Keffi corridor of the Abuja-Keffi Expressway project over alleged misconduct.

Umahi, who gave the directive during an inspection tour of the ongoing 43-kilometre expansion project on Friday, accused the Controller of negligence and issuing fraudulent certificates authorizing payments for poorly executed or unexecuted jobs. He directed the Permanent Secretary to reassign the officer without delay and deploy a replacement.

“Today, I am directing the Permanent Secretary to remove the Controller with immediate effect and send him to my office to learn how to obey instructions. Another Controller should be redeployed immediately to take over,” Umahi declared.

The Minister also issued a stern warning to China Harbour Engineering Company, the contractor handling the project, giving it until the end of February to complete and hand over the road or face sanctions in line with contractual terms.

“I am giving you the end of February to hand over this job. You must come to my office on Wednesday with your timetable and a commitment to complete the project by then,” he said.

Umahi stressed that 2026 would be an “action year” for the ministry, warning that indiscipline, negligence, and failure to enforce directives would no longer be tolerated. He emphasized that supervising officials must escalate contractor non-compliance to higher authorities and deny certificates where necessary.

“Nobody will be spared. Discipline is our watchword. Diligence is our watchword. Doing the work we are paid to do is our watchword. When action is taken, no amount of pleading will reverse it. I report directly to Mr. President,” he added.

During the inspection, Umahi made stopovers at several points along the corridor, including the Keffi flyover, to assess progress and compliance with earlier directives.

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