Abuja — The Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, has said that contrary to the thinking of people in opposition, President Bola Tinubu's administration was giving Nigerians real value for money, with investments in road infrastructure.
He said this while fielding questions from journalists after a tour of ongoing road projects in the North Central zone yesterday.
According to him, roads and bridges being built by the current administration are designed to last for a hundred years.
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He said the quality of materials used and other variables were put into consideration during the design and execution of all projects.
The minister wondered why the cost of cement, iron rods, sand and chipping, which were essential components for the construction of reinforced concrete and flexible asphalt pavement roads, had failed to respond to the administration's economic measures unlike the agricultural sector.
Umahi said: "What is the cost of cement? Cement is costing N9,500 and one meter cubed of concrete is going to be nine bags. Multiply 9 bags by N9,500, that is only cement.
"You see improvements in our foreign reserve. You see the inflation coming down, though the cost of construction materials are going up and we don't know why. The dollar is being stabilised but cement went from N7,500 to N9,500.
"Same with chipping, same with sand. You need to help me find out why. Why should that be?
"It is like you know what we read in physics, you know the behaviour of water at a temperature of minus 4 degrees, they start behaving differently.
"That can be (likened) to what we experience in terms of construction material. Help me find out. But, of course, food prices are coming down and we are very happy about that."
He urged Nigerians to show greater understanding for the challenges of maintaining the nation's vast road network.
While reiterating President Bola Tinubu's continued commitment to taking on these challenges head on, Umahi said: "Life itself is a challenge. We are facing the challenges and we will sort things out. But let me say, generally, I feel so sad with the routes between Abuja and Lokoja.
"It's so frightening, you know the situation. But let me say that it's not peculiar to this route. What the president inherited, like I said before, is very frightening. Even if you put all the resources of the nation in rebuilding all these roads, it won't even be enough.
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"So, we are doing the best we can in the circumstance, knowing that he inherited an economy that everything became a priority.
"Yet, he has given roads and bridges very high priority. knowing that this is the sector that grows the GDP upon which other GDP indicators depend on to grow. And you can see a lot of the reforms that are yielding a lot of fruits."
