Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has tendered a public apology to President Bola Tinubu and Nigerians over the flooding that disrupted movement on the newly completed Lafia-Makurdi highway, calling the incident an embarrassment caused by the negligence of the road concessionaire.

Umahi, who commended President Tinubu for his timely and fatherly intervention in Benue State, said the President’s visit had restored hope and reassurance to the affected communities.

“We apologize very profusely to Mr. President and Nigerians, for the embarrassment, this unfortunate incident caused him and Nigerians.

“We also commend Mr. President very highly for his fatherly role in Benue State. His visit there has made a lot of impact on the lives of the people of Benue State and everyone living in that place. With God on his side, Benue people shall see sustainable peace and progress,” said.

In a statement on Friday by his Media aide, Uchenna Orji, the Minister, on Wednesday, directed the immediate deployment of officials from the Federal Ministry of Works and China Harbour Operations and Maintenance Company, the firm responsible under the Highways Development and Management Initiative (HDMI), to the affected section of the road.

The intervention followed flooding on June 18, which disrupted traffic due to debris clogging an existing culvert.

The Minister said that both the Ministry and the concessionaire teams cleared the blockage and restored the section, but warned that a long-term solution must now be implemented.

He tasked the company with identifying the root cause of the flooding and taking decisive steps to prevent recurrence.

“We must avoid a repeat of such an incident on a tolled and completed road. The concessionaire is responsible for maintaining the carriageway, and they must do so diligently,” he said.

In a separate meeting with Citibank Nigeria executives, Umahi sought private sector support for President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Legacy Projects, four major infrastructure initiatives aimed at economic revitalization.

He commended the President’s reform efforts, which he said were attracting international investor confidence while emphasizing that partnerships are crucial to realizing the administration’s infrastructure goals and delivering long-term benefits to Nigerians.

Citibank’s Managing Director, Nneka Enwereji, expressed the bank’s interest in supporting impactful infrastructure projects in Nigeria and praised the administration’s efforts to improve transparency and infrastructure delivery. (The Nation)