A major federal intervention is underway across Southern Nigeria following an executive order by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to dismantle multi-day traffic standstills on key transport arteries.
​The directive targets severe structural failures along the Benin-Agbor-Asaba highway linking the South-West to the South-East, as well as the critical Ifaki-Kabba-Ado Ekiti route connecting Ekiti and Kogi states.
Heavy rains and years of surface wear have reduced key sections of the highways to mud trenches, leaving commercial truckers and passenger buses stranded for days and forcing desperate commuters to abandon their vehicles.
​The president’s mandate was made public on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, through a press statement released by Francis Nwaze, Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Works.
​”President Tinubu, GCFR, has directed the Federal Ministry of Works to urgently intervene and ensure that necessary corrective actions are taken to restore movement on the affected roads as quickly as possible,” statement quoted Works Minister David Umahi.
​In response, the Federal Ministry of Works launched a synchronized dual-axis response: Minister of Works, David Umahi, personally led a delegation of federal lawmakers from the National Assembly Committees on Works directly to Benin City on Tuesday to coordinate field action for the Edo-Delta route.
Minister of State for Works, Bello Goronyo, was dispatched to lead a specialized team of ministry engineers along the Ifaki-Kabba-Ado Ekiti route, commencing site inspections and emergency earthworks on Tuesday.
​Arriving in Benin, Minister Umahi met with representatives from the Edo and Delta state governments, alongside executive delegates from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The joint task force aims to bypass bureaucratic delays, pool heavy machinery, and instantly open bypass lanes to drain trapped traffic.
​Speaking directly to stranded road users in Edo State, Umahi offered a rare, direct apology on behalf of the government, taking personal responsibility for the infrastructure breakdown.
He assured commuters that while emergency crews work around the clock to clear the immediate bottleneck, contractors are being mandated to execute permanent asphalt reconstructions to prevent seasonal failures along both corridors.
