Every day, the collapse of Benin-Asaba Expressway deepens hardship, exposing motorists to life-threatening ordeals, even as the federal government appears indifferent.

The expressway is a 125-kilometre federal road corridor in the southern part of the country. It is a strategic highway that links the South-West, South-South, and South-East regions.

About five months ago, precisely on Sunday, March 21, 2025, the federal government flagged off the reconstruction of the expressway with the usual funfair laced by empty promises that the actors knew might not be fulfilled.

The flag-off event was performed on behalf of President Bola Tinubu by Monday Okpebholo, the Edo State governor. The hope once raised among motorists and residents of that area has since faded as daily accidents on the road now claim not just limbs but lives.

The government’s excuse for delaying or abandoning the project is a lack of the needed funds, yet , huge sums continue to be squandered on frivolities and less viable projects.

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“How much does it cost to reconstruct this expressway that Nigerians are made to go through all these?” queried Johnson Chukwuma, a civil engineer, who spoke to BusinessDay on the phone from Onitsha, a neighbouring town to Asaba.

“I live in Onitsha. So, this is a must-take route for me each time I want to travel to Lagos on road. The experience is a nightmare, to say the least,” Chukwuma further said, wondering why it has to take eternity before the government gets the road fixed.

According to the commentator, the cost of President Tinubu’s latest foreign trip, which runs into thousands of dollars, can fix the collapsed Benin-Asaba Expressway, which is a federal road.

“A fraction of the almost N4 trillion Tinubu wants to spend on repairing the Third Mainland Road in Lagos, or just 0.5 percent of the $28 billion paid to Hitech, the contractor handling the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Highway, can fix this road,” he reasoned.

A couple of days ago, the federal government announced plans to repair the Third Mainland Bridge, disclosing that it was considering either repairing or building a new one at the cost of N3.8 trillion and N3.6 trillion, respectively.

Meanwhile, the 11.8-kilometre bridge built between 1976 and 1990 by the military government was repaired recently at a cost of N21 billion, meaning that it will cost the government 180 times more money to carry out fresh repair work on the bridge.

The Lagos-Calabar Expressway, on which the government has spent so much money, is not only serving a narrow interest but is increasingly turning into a white elephant project. Since May 30, 2025, when the 30-kilometre Section 1 Phase 1 of the 700-kilometre project was commissioned, it has been largely closed to traffic.

Benin and Asaba residents, as well as motorists on the Benin-Asaba Expressway, are appealing to the federal government to reconsider its priorities and give attention to their plight on the expressway.

A trending video of the expressway’s deplorable state – showing motorists and other users struggling through gullies and ditches – paints the image of a soulless nation, one where people are stranded and lives left to uncertain fate.

The video also shows several trucks trapped flood-covered ditches, unable to move off the road. Many of the vehicles, trucks and tankers are loaded with perishable goods and inflammable materials that pose a grave risk to life.

“The Asaba–Benin Expressway is a critical national asset. Its current state is unacceptable, and the Federal Ministry of Works must take urgent steps to provide at least temporary relief while awaiting full rehabilitation,” Epiphany Azinge, Asagba of Asaba, was quoted as saying.

The Asagba added that, “swift action will ease vehicular movement pending the mobilisation of contractors as approved by President Tinubu.” (BusinessDay)