The Federal Government has ordered a review of road concession agreements following the worsening crisis on the Benin-Asaba Expressway, where motorists and commuters have faced prolonged gridlock and difficult travelling conditions. Minister of Works David Umahi announced the move on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, after inspecting the troubled highway in Edo State and directing emergency measures to restore traffic flow.
The intervention follows mounting complaints over failed portions of the highway, particularly along the Benin-Agbor corridor. Some travellers have reportedly spent days navigating sections of the route, intensifying pressure on the Federal Government to address the deteriorating infrastructure.
Umahi said the government would examine how concessionaires are selected and assess whether companies entrusted with major public infrastructure have the technical capacity to deliver their obligations.
The minister sharply criticised the Benin-Asaba Expressway Concession Company (BAECC), which took over the project under a concession arrangement in 2025.
Umahi accused the company of removing existing asphalt from sections of the road despite warnings from the Ministry of Works. He argued that the action worsened the condition of the highway and left road users exposed to further deterioration.
The minister said the Federal Government would not allow concessionaires to compromise public infrastructure or endanger motorists. He also apologised to commuters affected by the crisis and said President Bola Tinubu had directed the ministry to take necessary steps to address the situation.
As part of the immediate response, the government plans to bring in competent contractors to carry out emergency interventions and make severely affected sections of the highway passable.
The Benin-Asaba Expressway was concessioned to BAECC in 2025 for reconstruction and expansion into a 10-lane highway.
Under the arrangement:
- The project is scheduled for completion in September 2027.
- BAECC is expected to recover its investment through tolling.
- The concessionaire is expected to operate and maintain the road for 25 years.
- The wider project involves reconstruction and expansion of the strategic corridor.
The highway is an important transport link between Edo and Delta states and serves motorists, commercial operators and freight traffic moving through the region. Its deterioration has therefore had consequences beyond individual commuters, affecting the movement of goods and commercial activity along the corridor.
The current dispute raises a broader question about whether concession arrangements are delivering the infrastructure improvements promised to the public.
BAECC CEO Samuel Daramola offered a different explanation for the project’s difficulties, pointing to persistent rainfall and the volume of traffic using the highway.
Daramola said the company had expanded some portions of the road to eight lanes and carried out palliative work. However, he said continuous traffic made it difficult to construct drainage infrastructure without disrupting movement.
He also explained that some newly worked sections had to be reopened before construction materials had fully cured because traffic needed to pass through the corridor. That, according to the concessionaire, resulted in some work having to be repeated.
The explanation has not settled the concerns surrounding the project.
The representative of the project’s consultant, Toyin Akinlapa, disputed part of the concessionaire’s explanation, alleging that BAECC did not follow professional guidance on the sequence of construction.
According to Akinlapa, the company was advised to prioritise drainage works before undertaking other major interventions. He said the advice was not followed and that the failure affected the condition of the road.
The conflicting accounts have placed the project’s management and technical decisions under greater scrutiny as the Federal Government considers what action to take.
The crisis has also attracted scrutiny from the National Assembly.
Akin Alabi, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Works, supported a review of the concession arrangement and called for immediate palliative measures to ease the hardship experienced by motorists.
The Federal Government’s planned review could extend beyond the Benin-Asaba corridor. The Works Ministry has indicated that the competence of companies awarded road concessions must be properly assessed before major infrastructure projects are handed over to private operators.
That approach could have wider implications for Nigeria’s public-private partnership model in road infrastructure, particularly where concessionaires are expected to finance, reconstruct, operate and maintain strategic highways.
The immediate priority is to restore movement along the worst-affected portions of the Benin-Asaba Expressway while the government and other stakeholders determine the future of the concession.
The planned emergency repairs are expected to provide short-term relief, but the larger issue will be whether BAECC remains responsible for the project under its existing terms, whether the agreement is amended, or whether the Federal Government takes stronger contractual or regulatory action.
The outcome of the stakeholder review will therefore be significant not only for motorists travelling between Benin and Asaba but also for Nigeria’s wider road-concession policy.
For now, the government faces pressure to ensure that the immediate traffic crisis is resolved while establishing accountability for the problems that brought the strategic highway to its current condition.
