ABUJA—IN what appeared to be a self assesment, the Federal Government, yesterday, scored itself and came to a conclusion that the worst roads in the country were located in the South-South and South-East geopolitical zones.

Disclosing this, yesterday, in Abuja when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, FERMA, headed by Senator Magnus Abe, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who noted that some of the major federal roads in the 11 states were constructed before the 1967-1970 Nigerian Civil War, said that efforts were being put in place to fix the roads.

Fashola told the senators that the N100 billion sourced through the Sukuk bond, was yet to be released to his Ministry to carry out 25 major road construction projects in the six geopolitical zones of the country. Chairman of FERMA committee, Senator Abe, noted that senators who are the true representatives of the people were usually sidelined by heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government when mulling siting of projects.

He said: “As elected representatives of the people, if the Federal Government is doing anything in your areas, our inputs are hardly needed. We will then have to fight for relevance. “We are meeting you because of the challenges FERMA, which is under your supervision, is facing. Is this agency relevant in your scheme of things in your ministry? We need you to touch on the core challenges of this agency.” On his part, Fashola said: “When we did the audit of our roads, we discovered that some sections are bad. Many roads have outlived their lifespans. Many roads in the South-East and South South were built before the civil war. They are among the worst in the country.

They need to be replaced. “Funds generated from Sukuk have not been released because of the conditions tied to them. We will try and repair the roads before people start travelling for the festivities in December. We are doing something about that.” On the Challenges facing FERMA, Fashola said: “One of the reccurring stories of under performance which we inherited is that of ministerial interference. We have tried to supervise without interfering. As best as possible, we try not to. “I have tried to enable government see what it is spending in each of the parastatals under my ministry. In the past, FERMA spent money on areas it had no business with. That has to stop.

If you allocate money and it is spent on local government roads, it means something is wrong. The core mandate of FERMA is to repair federal roads. “FERMA can be the largest construction company in the country. It depends on what we are willing to put into the agency. In the past, FERMA collected monies for roads they did not construct. That has to stop in this government. “We are working with the Army Corps to see how we can develop local content. The unemployment challenges we have can be reduced if FERMA is busy in every state.”

raker300:
But mynd46-2 said fg is tarring all SE roads?


Somebody lied

BeeBeeOoh:
Waiting for the peeps who will blame GEJ but forgot that OBJ, UMY was once the president but over look those roads

BeeBeeOoh:
Waiting for the peeps who will blame GEJ but forgot that OBJ, UMY was once the president but over look those roads

raker300:
gej tarred enugu-port Harcourt, enugu-ebonyi, enugu-onitsha old road.

But due to neglect, they’re all damaged now.

Apc on the other have just been talking for the last 2 years now

massinola:


You took the words from my mouth. Just booked space to type this exact thing. They will soon arrive

BeeBeeOoh:
Africans lack maintenance culture, but as for APC, I no get strength to talk Get something chilled and wait for them, in no distant time they will be here

raker300:
gej tarred enugu-port Harcourt, enugu-ebonyi, enugu-onitsha old road.

But due to neglect, they’re all damaged now.

Apc on the other have just been talking for the last 2 years now

baralatie:
Fashola told the senators that the N100 billion sourced through the Sukuk bond, was yet to be released to his Ministry to carry out 25 major road construction projects in the six geopolitical zones of the country. Chairman of FERMA committee, Senator Abe, noted that senators who are the true representatives of the people were usually sidelined by heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government when mulling siting of projects.

adadike281:
Gov Obiano, we have done it before and I know we can do it again. pls forget fed govt , coz all they do is 'promise and fail', gather our elites and well meaning Igbos , let's see what we can do about Enugu-Owerri road.

Yyeske:
Where is Enugu-Owerri road located please or you mean Enugu-Onitsha road? The only road worthy of mention in the SE is the Onitsha-Owerri road which was reconstructed by OBJ, GEJ did absolutely nothing in the SE.

Amarabae:
And one idiot will jump out and ask why the call for Biafra is rising,
In order to save face ,the mumu will start blaming goodluck.
Whereas it is the same mumu chameleons who demonized GEJ and Stella oduah for Making Enugu airport international.
Tribal politics is their game, that's why they supported the north in electing buhari.

BeeBeeOoh:
Waiting for the peeps who will blame GEJ but forgot that OBJ, UMY was once the president but over look those roads

liberalsinnerx:
Afonjas will tell you that why are the state governors not doing their jobs in SE and SS. But when you tell them that these are federal roads, they say why not build/repair and then get reimbursement from federal government. But you tell them that Anambra for example has spent over 20 billion over the last 7yrs building/repairing federal roads but only been reimbursed 20% of the cost thus far.