Senator Adams Oshiomhole, representing Edo North Senatorial District, raised concerns over the award of the Abuja-Kaduna road contract during a budget defence session involving the Minister of Works, David Nweze Umahi. The exchange was captured in a video shared by TVC News on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. Umahi currently serves as the Minister of Works under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
Speaking during the session, Oshiomhole began by stating, “My name is Adam Oshiomhole. First, I want to advise all of us here, particularly the National Assembly, there is no better representation of the vision of Mr. President than yours. That explains why we never declined any appropriation from the executive that has to do with people’s capital budget.”
He continued, “That’s a matter of fact that no minister can disagree on. But whether you use the money or not is why we have to have a this function.” Addressing the broader national interest, he said, “Now, because we are, as you said, we shouldn’t look at our areas alone. We should look at the country. I shared the concern of the chairman about Abuja-Kaduna road.”
Referring to the revocation of the previous contract, Oshiomhole stated, “You have no regret in revoking it from Julius Berger. Fine. I am not the director of the Julius Berger. I cooperate with those of you who say fine while you do things.”
He then questioned the decision to award the contract to another firm. “But what I fail to understand is why you award the contract to a new company that is formed by Mikano. Mikano has been known for generator distribution. Whatever you call it, you have to assume an accent. They have no history of road construction.”
Oshiomhole added, “So why would you take a job from a reputable company and give it to an unknown company that has no record of having worked anywhere? If it did, those working on the road now, we would like to know the name and then the project they have done before by the past 10 years or 20 years in Nigeria. It is all about reputation.”
Describing his observations during a recent trip, he said, “When I travelled through that road, because I was with Kaduna man, I could see, you see the tractors. Whether they are working or not is arguable. It is like what I saw when I was ongoing. I go there, I see a tractor that is not moving. I will see it, you know, all over the place.”
He further remarked, “This Kaduna road is not a miracle. It is not rocket science. Whether it is by concrete or it is by asphalt, as an engineer, you know that the real issue is not the choice between concrete and asphalt. Because if the concrete is also poorly done, specification poorly written, supervision, supervision almost zero, contractor incompetent, the part of the road, concrete, is not a magic word that delivers quality. I think we should settle on that.”
