The Minister of Works, David Umahi, says his activities since the assumption of office did not suggest he is probing the work done by the immediate past administration.

Umahi said this in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, on Friday, September 22, 2023, after the inspection of federal roads in the state.

The minister, however, said any contractor, who did not adhere to the minimum standard, would be queried and asked to go back to the site.

He said: “The last administration did well on road construction and I am only out to see to the status of these projects.

“Nobody should be afraid of probe.

“I am only following Mr President’s renewed Hope Agenda and no amount of blackmail will stop this agenda.”

Umahi, the immediate past governor of Ebonyi State, who deployed concrete technology for road construction in his tenure, said the option remained the best for the country at the moment.

He commended Cross River State Governor, Bassey Out, for following suit, saying: “Aside the durability, it is also the most cost effective when compared with bitumen.

“The road is beautiful and I have seen it already and it is a good initiative of Senator Otu.

“This is what President Bola Tinubu has been preaching; we cannot continue to do the same thing the same way and expect a different result.

“We are trying to do it differently and we should expect a different result for our road infrastructure.

“It’s cheaper than the asphalt. Today, the dollar rate is almost N1,000 to the dollar and the cost of crude oil is about 94 dollars per barrel.

“There is no contract you sign for asphalt today and say you have a contract because you will be carrying it almost everyday due to the behaviour of the dollar.”

On his part, Governor Otu said the concrete road constructed by his administration was in line with Tinubu’s agenda, adding that it would be replicated in many parts of the state.

The Star