Former Senator representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District, Babafemi Ojudu, has asked the Federal Government to explain the status of the N95.98 billion Akure-Ado-Ekiti dual carriageway project, expressing concern that only one carriageway appears to have been rehabilitated despite the project being awarded for dualisation.

Ojudu, in a statement on his verified social media handles on Tuesday, said the people of Ondo and Ekiti states had welcomed the project when contractors mobilised to site, particularly as work commenced on the second carriageway, bridges and other structures designed for the dual carriageway.

He, however, said the situation had changed, with heavy construction equipment reportedly disappearing from the project sites and construction activities grinding to a halt.

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Ojudu, who queried what had become of the other components of the project, said, “But what has ultimately been delivered? One rehabilitated carriageway”.

He recalled that the project had a long history, noting that the original contract, valued at about N30 billion, was awarded to Dantata & Sawoe in November 2019 before it was later cancelled.

According to him, the Federal Executive Council, on March 29, 2023, approved the re-award of the project as a 50-kilometre dualisation project for N95.98 billion.

He said the project was subsequently flagged off in May 2023, with the Akure-Ondo State boundary section awarded to Samchase Nigeria Limited and Horizon Construction Company Limited for N46.68 billion, with a 24-month completion period.

Ojudu added that the section from the Ekiti boundary to Ado-Ekiti was awarded to Kopek Construction Limited for N49.29 billion, with a 30-month completion period.

He, however, called on the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, to clarify whether the contract awarded for a dual carriageway had been altered to a single carriageway.

“If so, who authorised the change, when was it approved, and why were the people not informed?” he asked.

The former senator also demanded clarification on whether the contract sum had been reviewed and the amount so far released to each contractor.

He questioned why bridges and other structures capable of accommodating a dual carriageway were being constructed if the Federal Government no longer intended to deliver the second carriageway.

“Have the contractors formally withdrawn from the site, or is the disappearance of their equipment merely temporary?” he asked.

Ojudu further urged the government to disclose the percentage of work completed on the project and state when construction of the second carriageway would resume.

He said the government should also clarify whether it remained committed to delivering the dual carriageway for which nearly N96 billion was approved.

“Minister Umahi, this road is too important to the economic and social life of Ondo and Ekiti states to disappear into the familiar fog of abandoned contracts, altered specifications and official silence,” he said.

Ojudu stressed that a rehabilitated single carriageway could not simply replace a dual carriageway without an explanation, insisting that the people of the two states deserved to know what was awarded, what had been paid for, what had been delivered, and what had happened to the outstanding components of the project.