The Construction and Civil Engineering Senior Staff Association (CCESSA) has lambasted Minister of Works Dave Umahi for castigating construction firms.

The association ob’erved that the same firms Umahi consistently talks down are the companies the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nyesom Wike, is using to deliver world-class infrastructure.

CCESSA National President Ayodeji Adeyemo, who spoke during the Quadrennial Delegates Conference on Friday, August 15, 2025, in Abuja, said Umahi should take advice from construction experts instead of making sweeping remarks on construction firms.

Adeyemo said, “I have been in the industry now for about 32 years. Now, you have roads all over Nigeria. How do you see the condition of the roads? Like, I was so shocked to hear from a minister that some boulders blocked the culverts on the major highway and because of that there was flooding.

“Now, the next question is that on the major highway, most especially the type that we have along Makurdi Road, is it supposed to be blocked? Are you expected to construct a culvert? And that is why I said we should have a holistic standard procedure of evaluating contractors to handle our road projects.

“You see what the FCT minister is doing. He is doing great jobs and we wonder in Construction and Civil Engineering Senior Staff Association, why this same set of contractors that the Ministry of Works under the leadership of Umahi is busy condemning, castigating in the press. They are the same set of people that are delivering good projects in Abuja for FCT.

“And that is why the accolades are going to the FCT minister. So, how do you term that? The ministry again, I repeat, the Ministry of Works has failed and has failed Nigerian masses.

“I recommend that the minister and his team should listen to the voice of the experts. There is no man that knows everything. He is an engineer, but I want to say it here, I have a PhD in engineering, but I do not know everything.

“There was a time we wrote to him that we want to have meetings with him, just when the issue of FCT and the ministry started, just to rub minds with him, we wrote two letters, no response.

“And he has been arrogantly going to the press, castigating our employers.”

He told the Federal Government to ensure that economic reforms and development policies should reflect the needs, understanding, and support of the Nigerian people.

On his part, Minister of Labour, Maigari Dingyadi, assured CCESSA of the Ministry’s continued support, adding that the ministry appreciates the contribution of the union to national development.

Represented by the Registrar of Trade Unions, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Alex Olebe, Dingyadi urged unions to register their presen’e with the Ministry, as it was in the process of training union officials for professionalism.

“The era of banging tables is gone. The Government is improving. So channel your complaints through appropriate quarters, and it will be addressed,” he added.

Also, he urged the unions to report employers not negotiating with their workers and motivating them to the Ministry and it would be addressed.

Moreover, President, Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI), Vincent Barrah, said that in spite of the importance of the Nigerian construction industry, it had remained a sector faced with formidable headwinds.

Barrah said the sector is challenged with escalating project costs driven by volatile exchange rates and inflation, disruption in material supply chains due to global and local economic instability.

He added that difficulty accessing finance, policy inconsistencies, and delays in payments for completed works and security challenges also threaten both projects and lives.

“In such an environment, the survival of construction companies, and indeed the jobs and livelihoods of thousands of workers, is not something we can take for granted.

“This is why I am convinced that now, more than ever, labour and employers must be partners, not adversaries.

“Our shared goal is not merely to win individual battles at the bargaining table; it is to ensure that there remains a table to bargain on. Without a thriving and sustainable construction sector, we will all lose, workers, companies, and the nation alike,” he said. (Saturday Sun)