The Senator representing Edo North and former Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has accused the Minister of Works, David Umahi, of bias in the distribution of funds for federal road projects, insisting that existing roads should be repaired before new ones are built.
Oshiomhole made the claim in a podcast interview shared on social media, in which he returned to his disagreement with the minister over budget proposals and the management of federal roads.
He said his criticism of Umahi at a National Assembly budget hearing formed part of his duty to scrutinise government spending and ensure that public money follows national priorities.
According to him, he questioned why new projects were receiving funds while many federal roads across the country had decayed and needed urgent attention.
The senator argued that the ministry should first fix roads that had become impassable.
“As a manager, you do not keep on building new houses when you cannot maintain the houses you already have. It is common sense,” he said.
Although he belongs to the ruling All Progressives Congress and is close to President Bola Tinubu, Oshiomhole maintained that his stand was not politically motivated.
He accused Umahi of invoking the President’s name instead of answering the issues raised at the hearing. “Ministers should not drop his name to cover up their own mess,” he said, adding that the President could not be expected to supervise every ministry.
In his view, the duty of assessing road conditions, setting priorities and proposing budgets rests with the Minister of Works.
Oshiomhole also questioned the minister’s plan to present more road projects to the Federal Executive Council, saying available funds should go first to repairs.
He further raised doubts over how contractors on some projects were appointed, and insisted that the ministry must answer for the performance of those it engages.
He noted that the Federal Government set up the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency to maintain existing roads and called for closer coordination between the agency and the ministry.
He also urged Umahi to rely on reports from federal directors of works in the geopolitical zones to judge road conditions and set maintenance priorities, even where he cannot visit every site.
