Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Edo State Government has revoked the contract for the failed section of the Benin-Abraka Road at Ikpe Waterside in Orhionmwon Local Government Area and approved its immediate re-award to a competent contractor, in a decisive intervention that followed protests by residents who barricaded the road over its deplorable condition.
Deputy Governor Dennis Idahosa disclosed the decision on Wednesday during a meeting with Okaigheles, youth leaders and residents from Ikpe Waterside and adjoining communities who had protested the state of the road. Following assurances that the government would intervene, the protesters voluntarily dismantled the barricades they had erected along the road, allowing motorists to pass.
Idahosa said the decision to revoke and re-award the contract formed part of the administration’s efforts to address critical infrastructure challenges inherited from the previous government. According to him, the road was divided into two sections and awarded to two contractors before the present administration assumed office on November 12, 2024. While one contractor had completed about 76 per cent of its assigned stretch, the contractor handling the Ikpe Waterside section failed to deliver the project to the required standard.
“Governor Monday Okpebholo has approved that this road contract be revoked and re-awarded to a competent contractor,” Idahosa said. He expressed disappointment over the condition of the road and assured the communities that the administration would address inherited infrastructure deficiencies across the state’s 18 local government areas and three senatorial districts. The deputy governor also assured the communities that palliative works would commence on the worst portions of the road while the procurement process for the re-award was concluded. He said the local government would be directed to carry out emergency palliative works to ease the hardship faced by motorists.
Idahosa pledged to personally monitor the rehabilitation process to ensure the road was delivered to the required standard. “We need your understanding on most of these issues that were inherited from the previous government. It was not caused by us,” he said. He stressed that the Okpebholo administration would not compromise on the quality of roads being constructed across the state. The deputy governor also listened to complaints from the communities over the alleged forceful takeover of ancestral farmlands and their subsequent allocation to agricultural investors by the previous administration. He assured the stakeholders that the government would examine the issues and ensure that appropriate action was taken.
The protest that preceded Wednesday’s intervention was not solely about the road. The spokesperson of the protesting communities, David Ehiarinmwian, said their grievances extended beyond the deplorable state of the road. He called on oil and agricultural companies operating in the area to demonstrate greater commitment to the socio-economic development of their host communities through effective corporate social responsibility programmes. Ehiarinmwian also appealed to the state government to review the buffer-zone policy relating to the allocation of land to agricultural investors, arguing that the policy had affected local farmers’ access to ancestral farmlands and their traditional farming practices. Idahosa assured the stakeholders that their concerns would receive the attention of the government as part of its commitment to inclusive development across Edo.
The Benin-Abraka Road has been a source of controversy for years. The contract for the 17.5-kilometre Phase 1C of the project was awarded to Nsik Engineering Company Limited on May 16, 2023, with work commencing in September 2023. The following year, the Edo State Assets Verification Committee raised serious concerns about the project, criticising what it described as a 100 per cent hike in the contract sum. The contract had been awarded for eight billion naira but was reviewed upward to twelve billion naira in 2024 and later to sixteen point four billion naira in June 2024. Former Governor Godwin Obaseki subsequently explained that his administration inflated the contract sum, a disclosure that fuelled public outrage and intensified scrutiny of the project’s management.
The road’s deterioration has had consequences beyond inconvenience. In August 2026, flooding sacked homes in an Edo community, with residents blaming abandoned road projects for exacerbating the situation. The flooding and the road’s failure underscored the human cost of stalled infrastructure and the urgency of the government’s intervention. The Benin-Abraka Road is a critical artery connecting Edo State to Delta State and beyond, serving as a lifeline for commerce, agriculture and daily commuting for thousands of residents. Its condition had become a symbol of the broader infrastructure deficit that the Okpebholo administration has pledged to address.
The revocation and re-award of the contract signal a shift in the state’s approach to road construction. By publicly acknowledging the failure of the previous contractor and committing to a fresh procurement process, the government has sought to distance itself from the legacy of inflated contracts and poor execution that characterised earlier efforts. The deputy governor’s assurance that palliative works would commence immediately while the re-award is processed reflects a recognition that residents cannot wait for the bureaucracy of procurement to run its course before experiencing relief. The promise to personally monitor the rehabilitation process is an acknowledgement that public trust in road projects has been eroded and must be rebuilt through visible accountability.
For the residents of Ikpe Waterside and surrounding communities, Wednesday’s decision represents a long-overdue victory. They had taken to the streets to demand action, and their protest achieved what years of complaints had not. The dismantling of the barricades following the deputy governor’s assurances was a gesture of good faith, but it also placed the responsibility squarely on the government to deliver on its promises. The coming weeks and months will reveal whether the re-awarded contract translates into durable road infrastructure or becomes another chapter in the cycle of abandoned projects that has defined the corridor for too long. The Okpebholo administration has made its position clear: the quality of roads across Edo will not be compromised. The residents of Ikpe Waterside will be watching closely to see whether that commitment holds.
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