Following the directive of the Ogun State Ministry of Works in its letter dated September 22, 2025, Minim and Tonye, the contractor handling Ogun East Senator Gbenga Daniel’s proposed 260-metre road in Sagamu, has accepted the engineering specifications and recommendations of the Ogun State government for the construction of the Paddy Arikawe Igbimo road.

The contractor conveyed this acceptance through its Director, Abimbola Ayodeji.

The contractor, in a letter addressed to the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Ogun State, Mr. Ade Akinsanya, dated Friday, September 26, said it had been directed by the executing agency, the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA), to commence the drainage works with the drainage specifications recommended by the Ogun Ministry of Works and Infrastructure.

Accordingly, it said the drainage dimension shall be a 600mm x 600mm RC drain with Grade 25 concrete in order to be in uniformity with the existing drainage.

Previously, the Ogun State government had directed the contractor to stop work on the project until it had obtained the necessary regulatory approval, stating that due process must be followed on the state road.

However, when the contractor submitted its drawings, the government noticed that the drainage and the concrete pavement design were not up to the Federal Ministry of Works (FMW) standard specifications for road design.

Following this, it made its observations known to the contractor through a letter dated September 22, 2025, asking it to make the necessary corrections and resubmit for approval accordingly.

While welcoming the contractor’s eventual decision to seek the Ogun State government’s approval for the project, the government stated that concrete binding should be of Grade 20, while the concrete grade for the reinforced concrete base, walks, and deck must be a minimum of Grade 25, with a high yield tensile strength of not less than 460 N/mm², among other specifications.

It also asked the contractor to use a 220mm thick reinforced concrete pavement of not less than Grade 35 concrete, preferably Grade 40 concrete, instead of the 150mm thick concrete pavement of Grade 20 that it had proposed, adding that the thickness of the stone base should preferably be 200mm.

It further asked the contractor to provide the full layout with elevation and grades, and concrete pavement details with reinforcement details at the joints, among others; provide the list of engineering materials and the material testing for the quality assurance of the work; and to include design criteria codes while resubmitting drawings to reflect the observations.

With the contractor’s change of heart and compliance with the law, the project, subject to Ogun State Ministry of Works approval, can recommence in earnest. (The Guardian)