Nigeria’s Minister of Works has admitted that a company awarded a major road concession lacked the technical competence to do the job, raising a question about who checked the company before government gave it the contract.

Development Diaries reports that Minister David Umahi apologised to commuters over the deplorable condition of the Benin-Sapele road and said the concessionaire lacked the technical competence required to execute the project.

The admission comes as the federal government rolls out emergency interventions on several failed roads, with palliative work having begun on the Ado-Kabba and Benin-Asaba roads, motorists stranded on a failed Ekiti highway undergoing emergency repairs, and Umahi inspecting the Benin-Agbor-Asaba expressway.

Four road interventions in one week, all arriving after the roads had already failed.

Nigeria’s highway concession model is supposed to shift construction and financing risks to private operators in exchange for toll revenue or availability payments.

That arrangement depends on the government first establishing that a company has the equipment, personnel, experience and financial capacity to deliver the project.

If a concessionaire lacked the required technical competence, the procurement record should show why it was considered qualified in the first place.

It should show what the company submitted, who assessed the documents, who approved the award and whether the claims were physically verified before the contract was signed.

That scrutiny is particularly important because the Federal Ministry of Works controls one of the country’s largest capital budgets. In its proposed 2026 budget of N3.2 trillion, the ministry allocated more than N1.9 billion for office equipment, vehicles, maintenance and generator fuelling, including N1.06 billion for office furniture and fittings, N682 million for motor vehicles and N200 million for generator fuel.

The problem exposes weaknesses in how government qualifies concessionaires and enforces their contracts.

Prequalification can become a paperwork exercise when certificates, equipment lists and reference projects are accepted without enough physical verification. A company can therefore look capable on paper while the government discovers its limitations only after work has begun.

Performance bonds provide another test because a concession contract should have a bond that government can call when a contractor defaults. When a road fails and the government has to mobilise emergency repairs, Nigerians should be able to see whether that bond was called and how much was recovered.

There should also be consequences for the people who approved an unsuitable contractor. A failed concessionaire can be replaced, but the officials who assessed and approved the bid should also be identifiable, and companies that fail basic performance requirements should face debarment from future federal contracts where the law provides for it.

The Federal Ministry of Works handled the procurement and is now handling the emergency repairs, while the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission regulates federal concessions, and the Bureau of Public Procurement sets procurement standards and maintains the national contractor database.

Their roles raise questions about who assessed the contractor, who approved the award and what safeguards were in place before the contract was signed.

A failed federal road also carries consequences beyond traffic and damaged vehicles. Section 16(2)(d) of Nigeria’s constitution directs the state towards adequate infrastructure, while the Public Procurement Act requires transparency, competitiveness and value for money and provides for debarment.

Citizens can also ask for the records behind the concession under the Freedom of Information Act. The prequalification score sheet, contract and performance bond documents would show whether the company was properly assessed and what protection the government secured before handing it the project.

The Benin-Sapele, Benin-Agbor-Asaba and Ado-Kabba roads serve farmers, traders and patients travelling between rural communities and urban centres. A bad road adds transport costs, delays farm produce reaching markets and can turn an urgent hospital referral into a dangerous journey.

Women farmers and small traders carry much of that economic cost, as longer journeys increase the risk of post-harvest losses and raise the cost of moving food and other goods to market.

Pregnant women face an even more immediate risk when poor roads delay referrals from rural communities in Edo, Delta, Kogi and Ekiti to facilities capable of providing emergency obstetric care.

People with disabilities also face roads designed without enough attention to accessibility. Federal road projects should include accessible crossings, walkways and transport infrastructure in line with the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018.

Umahi has at least identified the contractor’s technical competence as part of the problem. The next step is to show Nigerians how that contractor passed the government’s own test.

The ministry should publish the prequalification score sheet and performance bond for the concession and state whether the bond has been called. If it has not, Nigerians deserve to know why government is paying for emergency repairs while the contractor’s financial liability remains unclear.

The public can also help force that disclosure. Road users, transport unions and community groups can request the concession documents under the Freedom of Information Act and publish whatever they receive.

The same scrutiny should extend to the contractor’s record. Citizens should ask the Bureau of Public Procurement whether the company has been debarred and document journey times, vehicle damage and other costs caused by the failed roads.

Government agencies should then open up the wider picture, with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission publishing a register of federal highway concessions showing the contractor, contract value, project status and performance bond position, while the Bureau of Public Procurement should review the prequalification process for the failed concession and publish its findings, including whether debarment is warranted.

The next road contract should establish the contractor’s competence, enforce the contract and publish the safeguards before work begins.