The Federal Government has expressed satisfaction with the pace and quality of work on Section 3 of the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, a 162.35-kilometre stretch running from Agbara to the Ogun–Oyo boundary.
Minister of Works, David Umahi, who spoke during an inspection of the project, said progress on the section was already ahead of the time elapsed.
Umahi said although the section is still at an early stage, performance indicators show that work is advancing faster than the timeline, a trend he said contrasts with what is common on many federal road projects.
“As we speak, I’ve seen a report that percentage completion is 0.15 per cent, but time elapsed is 0.049 per cent. Unlike other contractors, many of our contractors, 90 per cent of them, we always have time elapsed far, far higher than the percentage completion. So I commend them very, very highly,” the minister said.
He added that the Federal Government was satisfied with the contractor’s early mobilisation and commitment, noting that HITECH commenced work without having received advance payment.
“This one is 162.35 kilometres by six lanes. And HITECH has not been given any advance payment. And that’s the kind of partnership we want. That’s the kind of commitment to national development that we want,” Umahi said.
The minister also disclosed that significant construction was ongoing on other segments of the Sokoto-Badagry corridor, including in the Sokoto–Kebbi axis, where 258 kilometres are under construction. He said the ministry had adopted the approach of opening work fronts from both the starting and ending points of major highways to accelerate delivery.
On security concerns raised by the contractor, Umahi said additional deployment had already been approved but not yet effected, directing that the matter be formally documented for immediate action.
“Because the President has given us marching orders, the National Security Adviser, myself, and of course by extension all the security chiefs to support every legacy project of President Bola Tinubu,” he said.Umahi also visited other Federal Government road projects in the South-West, including the Lagos–Ota–Abeokuta road, where maintenance work will be carried out on a 22-kilometre stretch, and where he commended the pace of work.
Earlier, the resident engineer in charge of Section 3, Oyewande Ali, said the project, awarded for a 36-month duration, commenced in November and had already recorded measurable progress on site preparation and preliminary works.
“The project started in November, which is just like two months ago. And within that period, we’ve been able to achieve like 18 kilometres of earthworks. We’ve achieved like 47 kilometres of side clearances out of the 163 kilometres, but we are still working on it,” Ali said.
He identified security issues and compensation for affected property owners as the major challenges so far, explaining that both were being addressed alongside construction activities.
“Basically, challenges are for a lot of projects that we do on a green alignment, green field. We have security issues that we are trying to sort out. Then we have issues with people that we have to pay compensation to. Because some people will be affected and we are dealing with that too,” he said.
Ali added that concrete works would commence shortly on the section already prepared.
“The concrete works will soon start from where we are standing,” he said.
The Managing Director of HITECH Construction Company Limited, Dany Abboud, said the firm began work immediately after the award in order to take advantage of the dry season, even though funds had not yet been released.
“The job was awarded to HITECH almost mid to end November 2025. We have started immediately work on it, although the funds have not been yet paid, in order to benefit from the dry weather,” Abboud said.
He told the minister that HITECH was currently working across several stretches of the Sokoto-Badagry corridor, including the northern axis, where large portions of earthworks had been completed.
“As we speak, we are working on the Sokoto area, which is 120 kilometres. We have completed earthworks almost like 65 kilometres out of the 120. We are envisaging a completion by end of November of almost 100 kilometres out of the 120 prior to the rainy season,” he said.
Abboud appealed for additional security support, noting that current security personnel are spread across multiple long sections of the highway.He said the company remained committed to completing the project ahead of schedule.
“Meanwhile, we are committed, Your Excellency, to complete the project not on time, but ahead of time, as we always did with the Federal Government and with the Federal Ministry of Works,” Abboud said.
The Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway is designed to run from Ilela in Sokoto State to Badagry in Lagos State, forming a major north–south transport corridor intended to improve connectivity, trade, and logistics across the country.
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