By staff Miracle Orumor

 

“The money trail, the missing links, and the questions Delta State must answer”

 

 

Engr. Henry Yeigagha, JP,

M.ENG, MNSE, MNIM, COREN, FHNR, A.D.Th, writes from Ayakoromo Town, Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State.

 

 

 

There are roads that merely connect communities, and there are roads that can redefine the destiny of an entire people. The Torugbene–Ojobo Road belongs to the latter. For the riverine communities of Burutu Local Government Area, it is more than asphalt and bridges; it is a potential economic artery, a route to education and healthcare, and a long-awaited escape from geographical isolation. Yet, after years of budgets, contracts, and promises, the project remains a story demanding serious public examination.

 

THE LONG BEGINNING

 

The documentary trail takes the project back to 2018, when the Delta State Government’s approved budget provided for the construction of the Torugbene–Ojobo Road. By 2019, it had been defined as Torugbene/Ojobo Road, Section A, measuring 3.104 kilometres from the end of an NDDC project to the approach of the first bridge.

 

That history raises legitimate questions: What exactly was constructed? What was the original contract sum? What was eventually paid? Were variations approved? Where did the NDDC intervention end, and where did the Delta State intervention begin? These are not accusations; they are legitimate questions of public infrastructure accountability.

 

THE 2022 PROMISE AND THE 2025 PROTEST

 

According to the Ojobo Development Forum, the Torugbene–Ojobo project appeared in the 2022 Delta State Budget but was reportedly not implemented. By March 2025, community frustration had resulted in public protest following the project’s reported removal from the 2025 budget. The community cited an estimated 13.205-kilometre road and demanded its reinstatement.

 

The protest represented more than a demand for asphalt. It reflected the frustration of communities that remain economically productive but physically disconnected. The fundamental question is simple: How can riverine communities participate meaningfully in the State’s economy when basic transportation infrastructure remains inadequate?

 

2026: THE ROAD RETURNS

 

The narrative changed in 2026, when the Delta State Government approved a new intervention on the Torugbene–Ojobo corridor. The project was welcomed by residents and stakeholders as a significant development for the riverine area.

 

The Delta State Public Procurement Commission officially describes it as “Completion of the Construction of Torugbene–Ojobo road (phase II), Section B: From the End of Section 1 to Ojobo.” The documented length is 9,463 metres, with an average clearance width of 13 metres, pavement width of 10 metres, and a 30-metre bridge.

 

Its scope includes site clearance, removal of unsuitable materials, sharp-sand filling, crushed-stone base, drainage, road-base reinforcement, and asphalt surfacing. It is therefore designed as a substantial engineered road, not merely a temporary access track.

 

THE ₦32.888 BILLION QUESTION

 

The financial dimension is perhaps the most striking aspect of the new intervention. Current project reporting places the value of the Torugbene–Ojobo Phase II project at approximately ₦32.888 billion. For a documented road length of 9.463 kilometres, that headline figure naturally invites public scrutiny.

 

On simple arithmetic, ₦32.888 billion divided by 9.463 kilometres produces an apparent average of approximately ₦3.48 billion per kilometre. But engineering economics cannot be judged by that calculation alone. Riverine construction involves difficult terrain, extensive earthworks, sand filling, drainage, bridge construction, marine logistics, equipment mobilisation, and other costs that can substantially affect the unit rate.

 

Nevertheless, a project of nearly ₦33 billion deserves full transparency. The public should, therefore, have access to the Bill of Quantities, contract award, payment schedule, variation provisions, and completion certification.

 

THE LENGTH PARADOX

 

Another issue requiring clarification is the project’s reported length. The historical Section A is documented as 3.104 kilometres, while the current Section B is 9.463 kilometres. Together, they total 12.567 kilometres.

 

Yet the Ojobo Development Forum previously referred to the corridor as approximately 13.205 kilometres, leaving a difference of about 638 metres. This does not establish wrongdoing; different chainage points, alignments, bridge approaches, terminal points, or existing NDDC works could explain the discrepancy.

 

But with almost ₦33 billion now involved, the public deserves a definitive engineering schedule showing exactly where the road begins, where it ends, what has already been constructed, and what the new contract covers.

 

THE NDDC CONNECTION

 

The project’s history also reveals an important NDDC connection. The earlier Delta State description of Section A referred specifically to the point where an NDDC project ended. Therefore, the entire Torugbene–Ojobo corridor should not be treated as one uninterrupted contract.

 

There is a need for a clear project genealogy: NDDC Section – Delta State Section A – Phase II Section B – Ojobo. Such documentation would eliminate confusion over responsibility, funding, completed works, and outstanding sections.

 

SETRACO AND THE CONTRACTOR QUESTION

 

The contractor identified for the current project is Setraco Nigeria Limited. The official procurement record gives the project a 24-month contract period, with an expected completion date of 7 April 2028.

 

This creates a measurable public benchmark. From now until completion, progress should be assessed not by political announcements but by physical quantities: metres cleared, earthworks completed, drainage constructed, bridge works executed, pavement layers completed and kilometres asphalted.

 

THE ZERO PER CENT DILEMMA

 

The Delta State project-monitoring platform currently displays 0 per cent progress for the project. This should be interpreted cautiously because monitoring platforms may not immediately reflect mobilisation or newly certified physical work.

 

Nevertheless, the figure represents the State’s publicly accessible monitoring position. If physical mobilisation has commenced, the monitoring record should be updated promptly. If substantial work has not commenced, the public deserves to know why.

 

THE MISSING EIGHT KILOMETRES

 

The wider connectivity challenge may be even more important. The Torugbene–Ojobo road cannot achieve its full economic value if the preceding links remain inaccessible.

 

Recent advocacy has drawn attention to an approximately eight-kilometre stretch between Bomadi and the beginning of the Torugbene–Ojobo project. This highlights a fundamental infrastructure principle: roads function as networks, not isolated kilometres.

 

A beautifully constructed nine-kilometre road cannot deliver its full economic benefit if an impassable stretch interrupts the journey immediately before it. The ultimate objective should, therefore, be a continuous Bomadi–Tuomo–Tamigbe–Torugbene–Ojobo corridor.

 

WHY THE ROAD MATTERS

 

For communities along this corridor, road connectivity could transform everyday life. Fishermen could move their catch more efficiently; farmers could reach markets; students could access schools; patients could reach healthcare facilities; businesses could transport goods; and government agencies could reach communities more effectively.

 

The road, therefore, represents more than transportation infrastructure. Properly executed, it could become an economic and social development corridor for a historically underserved part of the Niger Delta.

 

THE ENGINEERING TEST

 

As an engineer, I believe the project must be judged not merely by commissioning photographs but by its ability to survive the environment. The Niger Delta presents serious engineering challenges, including soft and compressible soils, flooding, erosion, high groundwater, and difficult logistics.

 

The embankment must be stable; drainage must be adequate; bridge approaches must be properly integrated; pavement layers must meet specification; compaction must be verified; and materials must satisfy the required standards. A road that looks impressive at commissioning but deteriorates shortly afterwards cannot be described as successful infrastructure.

 

TWELVE QUESTIONS DELTA STATE SHOULD ANSWER

 

For transparency, the following questions deserve clear documentary answers:

 

▪︎ What is the complete original alignment and chainage of the Torugbene–Ojobo Road?

 

▪︎ What exactly was constructed under Section A?

 

▪︎ What was the final cost of Section A?

 

▪︎ What variations were approved on the earlier sections?

 

▪︎ What exactly does the current ₦32.888 billion commitment cover?

 

▪︎ Does it include bridges, approaches, drainage and ancillary works beyond the 9.463-kilometre road?

 

▪︎ Why does the official measurement state 9.463 kilometres while the community previously cited 13.205 kilometres?

 

▪︎ What is the precise relationship between the NDDC and Delta State sections?

 

▪︎ What percentage of the current contract sum has been paid?

 

▪︎ What is the independently verified physical progress?

 

▪︎ Who is responsible for independent engineering supervision and certification?

 

▪︎ What is being done to ensure that the project ultimately connects with the Bomadi–Torugbene corridor?

 

These questions are not hostile. They are the normal questions that should accompany a major public infrastructure investment.

 

FROM BUDGET LINE TO CONCRETE REALITY

 

The people of Torugbene and Ojobo have waited long enough. They have seen budget provisions, announcements, omissions, protests, and renewed promises. What they now deserve is a transparent construction process through which every phase, quantity, payment, and milestone can be independently followed.

 

The ₦32.888 billion commitment represents a significant investment. Properly executed, the project could become one of the defining riverine infrastructure achievements of the present administration. But if delays and uncertainty return, another generation may inherit the same unanswered question: When will our road finally become a road?

 

THE ROAD MUST NOT END ON PAPER

 

The Torugbene–Ojobo Road is now at a decisive point. The project has been approved, formally defined, assigned to a contractor, and given a completion target of 2028. The next responsibility is to ensure that the project moves from documentation to physical reality.

 

The people of the riverine communities deserve a road whose beginning and end can be physically identified, whose specifications can be independently verified, whose cost can be reconciled with its quantities and whose completion certificate means genuine completion.

 

The road must, therefore, move from budget to ground, from ground to asphalt, and from asphalt to sustainable public use.

 

For the people of Torugbene and Ojobo, the real groundbreaking ceremony will not be the one attended by dignitaries. It will be the day an ordinary fisherman, farmer, trader, student, civil servant, or patient travels safely from Torugbene to Ojobo by road and knows that the road is finally there to stay. That is when an allocation becomes development. That is when a promise becomes history.