Disappointed with Umahi’s proposed concrete for federal highways, PDP

The Ebonyi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has criticised Minister of Works David Umahi’s decree, which states that the federal government would rather employ concrete technology for federal highways.The party added that Umahi’s direct labour method to road construction, which he used when serving as governor of Ebonyi State, had not produced the expected outcome.

In his inaugural press conference, Umahi stated that contractors choosing asphalt over concrete must provide a guarantee for the road’s longevity, pointing out that concrete roads have a 50-year lifespan.What we are telling all contractors is that they have two options,” he said.

Option number one: you have to start building our roads in accordance with the plan, which implies that if their 30-year shelf life is reached, you have to make sure they do, and you have to indemnify us for that.

If you’re already committed to asphalt, you have to make a firm commitment to the roads’ long-term viability.”Nobody is going to be made to build concrete roads; my personal belief is that Nigerians should receive value for their taxes and that their suffering should be kept to a minimum.

“In the meantime, the minister’s assertion that the concrete roads he built in Ebonyi State will endure for 50 years was debunked by the state’s PDP publicity secretary, Chika Nwoba, in a statement released on Friday.

As for Engineer David Umahi, there’s no denying that he has some experience in building engineering, but we are from Ebonyi State, and we are firsthand witnesses to how he managed the works sector during his eight years as governor of the state.”Hunger was the state’s worst problem while he was governor of Ebonyi State.

His projects deteriorate shortly before and after he leaves office. He personally oversaw the development of the Abakaliki International Market, where the collapse of several structures was one of the startling failures documented on his self-supervised projects.

“The occupants and Ebonyi people were surprised when the structures toppled totally. What shocked them was the governor’s boast that his direct labour projects would be able to withstand the test of time for up to 50 years.

To convince him to stop using direct labour and concrete pavement technology in all the construction projects his ministry would be working on, it will need the National Assembly or President Bola Tinubu himself.I