Former Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has justified the repeated increases in the cost of the Benin-Abraka road reconstruction project.
Obaseki attributed the adjustments to soaring inflation triggered by the removal of fuel subsidies under the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government.
The project, a 17.5-kilometer road reconstruction, was initially awarded in May 2023 for ₦8 billion.
However, the cost was revised to ₦12 billion in early 2024 and later to ₦16.4 billion by June 2024.
The revisions were revealed during a visit by the Physical Assets and Infrastructure Subcommittee of the Edo State Assets Verification Committee, which was acting on citizen petitions alleging significant contract inflation.
Nsik Engineering Company Limited, the firm handling the project, confirmed the timeline and financial adjustments.
The project manager, Ifiokebong Ekong, disclosed that the company received ₦2.9 billion as an initial mobilization fee—25% of the original contract sum—and began work in September 2023.
The project’s completion timeline was also shortened from three and a half years to 18 months.
Reacting to allegations of financial mismanagement, Obaseki, through his media adviser Crusoe Osagie, stated that the contract’s upward review was unavoidable due to economic challenges spurred by the APC government.
In a statement dated December 13, 2024, Osagie highlighted the dramatic inflation that followed subsidy removal and naira devaluation shortly after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office in May 2023.
“Prices of essential materials like cement, fuel, and construction equipment skyrocketed due to inflation,” Osagie explained.
“Between May and September 2023, fuel prices rose from ₦190 to over ₦600 per litre, cement prices surged from ₦3,000 to ₦15,000, and the cost of a bag of rice increased from ₦23,000 to over ₦100,000.
These economic realities necessitated multiple reviews of the contract sum to align with current market conditions.”
Osagie also criticized the current Edo State administration, accusing them of politicizing the matter and attempting to tarnish Obaseki’s legacy.
He claimed the Asset Verification Subcommittee was biased and resorted to “blackmail and propaganda” in its efforts to undermine the achievements of the previous government.
Despite the controversy, the former governor maintained that the project’s cost adjustments were a direct result of economic mismanagement at the federal level, which led to unprecedented inflation and supply chain disruptions.