Benin residents battle potholes, flooding as ₦27.8bn GRA road allocation raises delivery questions

Residents of Benin City are complaining about worsening potholes and flooding on several roads as questions grow over what has been delivered under a ₦27.8 billion state allocation for flood-control and road reconstruction in the Government Reservation Area.

Motorists and residents say poor road surfaces and drainage are making movement more difficult, especially during rainfall.

Reported trouble spots within the GRA include Reservation Road, Ihama Road, Boundary Road, Adesuwa Grammar School Road, Giwa Amu and Gapiona.

Other roads around central Benin and approaches to Ring Road have also drawn complaints over deteriorating conditions.

Edo budget allocates ₦27.8bn for GRA works

Edo State’s 2026 Citizens Budget lists ₦27,794,637,334 for “Flood Control Works And Reconstruction Of Some Affected Roads In GRA, Benin City.”

The figure is an allocation, not proof of expenditure or completed work.

The public records reviewed for this story do not yet show how much has been awarded, released or paid, which contractors are involved, which roads are covered by the project schedule or how much of the work has been completed.

Road agency says Ring Road rehabilitation is planned

The Managing Director of the Edo State Road Maintenance Agency, Felix Ibhade, has said the government plans full asphalt rehabilitation of Ring Road rather than temporary repairs.

He said rainfall had made durable interventions more difficult and that the agency intended to work with the Ministry of Works on rehabilitation.

That response addresses part of the wider road problem, but it does not establish what has been delivered under the separate ₦27.8 billion GRA allocation.

What has actually been delivered?

That is now the central accountability question.

The records still needed include the project schedule, procurement and award documents, contractor names, contract sums, payment records and progress certificates.

Those documents would show which roads are covered, how much taxpayers have actually paid and what work has been completed.

For residents, the consequences are immediate: longer journeys, harder access to homes and businesses and higher vehicle-repair costs.

For government, the question is equally direct: what has been procured, what has been paid for and what has been delivered under the ₦27.8 billion allocation?

Until those records are available, the evidence supports scrutiny — not a conclusion of waste, abandonment or non-performance.