Ex-Ondo Commissioner, Adegbenro blames professionals for Nigeria’s failing infrastructure

A former Commissioner for Infrastructure in Ondo State, Gboye Adegbenro, has attributed Nigeria’s persistent infrastructure failures to compromised standards among professionals in the construction sector.

Speaking while responding to questions on the challenges facing the industry, Adegbenro said poor maintenance culture, weak supervision, and ethical lapses by engineers and regulatory agencies have continued to worsen the condition of roads and public infrastructure across the country.

The former commissioner questioned the quality of many road projects nationwide. “Most of the construction we are witnessing too, they are not up to standard,” he said, citing road sections in Lagos that failed barely two years after completion.

“The truth of the matter is, people are saying government, government. But the problem lies on the professionals, we professionals,” he declared.

Adegbenro further criticised engineers and consultants for compromising standards. “We have compromised standards in this country,” he said, noting that many contractors are foreigners whose primary interest is profit rather than long-term durability.

Identifying poor maintenance culture as a major weakness, he called for the decentralisation of road construction and maintenance responsibilities, urging that local governments be empowered to handle such tasks, as practised in advanced countries including the United Kingdom.

“They know their area. They know those areas that are important to them. But here in Nigeria, federal government is serving with that responsibility,” he said.

He argued that it is unrealistic for a single federal authority to oversee road infrastructure across the country. “It is not possible for minister of works to be able to know or to go through all the roads in this country. And if you don’t see things, you won’t be able to do anything about it,” he added.

Adegbenro strongly advocated decentralised road management, insisting that local governments are best positioned to handle construction and maintenance. “There is no way a minister can apply all the roads in this country,” he said, explaining that councils see the roads daily and can respond promptly to defects.

He recommended a clear structure in which local governments manage roads, state governments supervise, while the federal government provides funding and oversight. “That is the best way to do it. Any chance of that, we are getting nowhere,” he warned.

The former commissioner also lamented the political tendency to abandon ongoing projects, calling for legislation to ensure continuity across successive administrations.

Commenting on the growing preference for concrete roads over asphalt, he cautioned that material choice alone is not the solution. “It’s all about supervision. It’s all about doing what is right,” he said, stressing the need for proper soil testing and laboratory analysis.

Adegbenro recently defended his PhD thesis at the Federal University of Technology, Akure.

“Well, I want to thank God Almighty for the opportunity and for the grace given me to be able to achieve this long time desire of mine,” he said.