The Senate on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to stop piling new road contracts on top of abandoned ones, warning that years of neglect and poor funding have left highways across the country in ruins.
Lawmakers carved out exceptions only for essential new roads, such as those reconnecting communities cut off by floods or opening access to underserved areas.
The ruling followed a motion by Senator Tony Nwoye on the collapsed Ogbaru-Ndoni-Rivers Federal Highway.
The Senate urged the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), the South-East Development Commission or the Federal Ministry of Works to carry out emergency repairs on failed sections pending full rehabilitation. It also asked the Works Ministry to begin full reconstruction of the Ogbaru-Iyiowa-Odekpe-Atani-Ogwuikpele-Ndoni highway through a special intervention programme or other funding arrangements.
The Committee on Works was directed to inspect the road, consult stakeholders and report back within four weeks. The Committees on Works and Appropriations were mandated to ensure adequate funding.
Nwoye said the highway, linking communities in Anambra State to Ndoni in Rivers State, has been neglected for decades despite being partially built in the late 1980s.
The Senate said potholes, pavement failures and erosion have made the road a danger to motorists and commuters. The roughly 70-kilometre trip from Onitsha through Ogbaru to Ndoni, which should take about an hour, now drags on for nearly two.
Lawmakers said the decay has raised transport costs, caused vehicle breakdowns, crippled commerce and exposed travellers to accidents and security risks. They warned that continued neglect could damage interstate trade, agriculture, regional integration and oil production along the Ogbaru corridor.
Senators Isah Jibrin, Diket Plang and Samson Ekong pointed to other abandoned projects that urgently need completion. One senator cited the Calabar-Itu and Idukpani-Itu roads, lamenting lives lost and economic activity disrupted on routes serving Aba, Ikot Ekpene and Umuahia.
Senator Adams Oshiomhole slammed the Ministry of Works for launching new projects while existing roads remain abandoned or underfunded.
Senators Ahmad Lawan, Adamu Aliero and Wasiu Eshilokun backed the call to prioritise ongoing projects. Lawan, however, urged provision for new roads serving underserved communities.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio agreed that completing existing projects should come first, but insisted new roads cannot be ruled out where floods have destroyed critical transport links. Refusing to build replacements in such areas, he argued, would amount to abandoning affected communities.