Inside the abandoned N30 billion Araromi Seaside-Lekki road project in Ondo

By solacebase.com On Mar 7, 2024

Rotimi Akeredolu at flag-off of Araromi Seaside-Lekki Road Project

By Alaba Adeyemi

In the heart of Ondo State, Nigeria, lies the abandoned Araromi Seaside-Lekki Road project. What began with lofty aspirations and ceremonial fanfare has devolved into a saga of broken pledges and vanished contractors. Residents, once hopeful for economic revitalisation, now lament the road’s stalled development and ponder its uncertain fate, DNN reports.

On the 5th day of April 2017, less than two months after the late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu-led government was sworn into office, the Ondo State Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for the construction of the Araromi Seaside-Lekki Road. The agreement reached was that the Ondo State government would be responsible for 60 percent of the cost while the NDDC would provide the remaining 40 percent.

On 14th of March 2018, late governor Akeredolu accompanied by many dignitaries and pressmen armed with cameras, flagged off the road project promising the road would be ready within 36 months.He specifically told them that this project “will not suffer the fate of others as it is not a project hurriedly conceived for political gains”.

On the 29th of January 2019, the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Yemi Owolabi announced the award of the contract to two contractors in two lots. The 37.5km dual carriage road project was awarded to Craneburg Construction Company and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd (CCECC).

Owolabi announced that “The state executive approval of the road project is divided into two lots. Lot 1 which is 18.850km is awarded to Craneburg Construction Company Lagos for N16.9 Billion. The execution of lot 1 is to commence from Araromi seaside and terminate at Awodikora/OKNLG. The 18.65-kilometre lot two of the road was awarded to CECC Limited Abuja for N15.7 billion. The construction of lot two will start from Awodikora/OKNLG Akodo-Lekki in Lagos state”.

According to a statement credited to the governor and still available on his official handles as at the time of filing this report “the state executive intends to pay 30% of the contract sum to the beneficiary contractors as mobilisation fees, while subsequent will be paid based on measurements and certificates. Contractors are to deliver in 36 months.” The governor also told the cheering members of the community that a special account has been created for the sole purpose of financing the project and will be overseen by the Ondo State Oil Producing Area Commission (OSOPADEC). The road was expected to have 67 culverts and 7.3 metres of carriage, 2.7 metres of shoulder width on both sides and 400 millimetres of pavement thickness.

DNN’s four-week investigation revealed that after the flag-off in 2018, the contractors went to the site but disappeared days later and have not returned since then.

Mr. Sola Ojo an indigene of Araromi who spoke to a DNN reporter confirmed the findings of this investigation. He said, “The contractors were seen on site on the day of the flag off and some days after but they disappeared and have not been seen since then.”

On how their hopes were dashed, Sola added “The groundbreaking ceremony raised our expectations. We thought the project would change our lives. Aside from the groundbreaking ceremony, nothing else has been done.”

Planned Project Or Political Tool?

A curious look at the series of events connected with the Araromi seaside to Lekki road project reveals a series of inconsistencies. The MoU to construct the road was signed in April 2017 between the Ondo state government and the NDDC.

The fact that the groundbreaking ceremony was carried out in March 2018 and the contract was awarded in January 2019 points to poor preparedness because it was supposed to be the other way around. According to the 2019 Budget Implementation Appraisal (BIA) released by the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the Ministry of Budget and Planning in January 2019 “One of the key roads to be constructed is the dual coast carriageway phase one (1) right side from Araromi seaside to Awodikora to Akodo – Lekki Lagos.” Going by the document, the road has been constructed whereas work has since stopped.

When the late Rotimi Akeredolu, former governor of Ondo State celebrated three years in office, he listed the “ongoing” construction of the Araromi seaside to Lekki road project as one of his “landmark” achievements since he assumed office.

Residents of the affected communities insist that the project was a political tool to get votes, given the fact that there was a groundbreaking ceremony one year before the actual contract award in 2019, mere weeks before the general elections and ahead of the 2020 governorship election in the state.

Speaking to DNN, Mr. Stephen Egbuwalo a native of Araromi who plies the Araromi Seaside – Lekki road, expressed his disappointment. He said, “We feel we have been used and dumped, all the groundbreaking was for political gains.”

He wondered if the contractors were not mobilised and what other reasons could cause the sudden pause of the project.

Another indigene, Mr. Juskin Emiloju said “The non-implementation of the project has had negative consequences on the economy of the area and of Ondo state because if the project was done, we would have benefited a lot. The workers, the labourers, the market women, young and old would have benefited but nothing has happened, there are no changes”.

Stories And Excuses

The people of Ilaje local government where the road is situated have made several efforts to get answers about the road project, to no avail. The former Chairman of the procuring MDA, Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (OSOPADEC) Mr. Gbenga Edema who was head of the Commission blamed the absence of an NDDC board for the failure of the Ondo state government to construct the road.

According to him, “The Araromi seaside to Lekki road was supposed to be constructed by the Ondo state government through OSOPADEC and the NDDC unfortunately for the four – five years NDDC has been operating without a board and this is responsible for the delay in executing the project”.

Furthermore, he added, “Although I know that the governor is very passionate about the project and he has met a lot of people especially those from ONDPA and they are making arrangements”.

In a report by the National Council of Niger Delta held in September 2022, and made available on the OSOPADEC website, NDDC approved the construction of the Araromi Seaside – Lekki road project after over 4 years of waiting.

The PRO of OSOPADEC was not available to comment on the delay in executing the contract, as several visits to his office did not yield results. But a staff of OSOPADEC who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation told DNN that the project was delayed for political reasons.

He said, “The project has not been done because the contractors were not mobilised due to lack of funds. No money was given to the contractors. Two years later, governor Akeredolu came to remodify the contract to partner with any willing organisation but nothing has been done”.

The insider went on to assert that “The government is still looking for an organisation who can partner with them to construct the road”.

When contacted, the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) could not provide answers to why they disappeared from the site. A staff member who spoke to DNN over the phone said “I have no information about the project”.

Similarly, a representative of Craneburg Construction Company who spoke to DNN said, “I don’t know anything about it, sincerely I have no idea about the project”.

This report was published with support from Civic Media Lab (CML)