Deplorable Roads: House Committee Decries Low Financial Appropriation to FERMA

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Federal Roads Emergency Management Agency (FERMA), Hon. Aderemi Hussein, yesterday, said the appropriation of a lowly 10 per cent of the national budget to the agency had hindered its ability to perform its functions effectively.

Hussein said such development had resulted in the deplorable conditions of roads in the country.

He spoke in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, during an oversight visit by the committee.

Hussein, who represents Ido/Ibarapa East federal constituency of Oyo State, said FERMA used to be one of the most reliable agencies of government, but inadequate funding had hindered its effective performance.

He said, “Before now, FERMA used to be one of the reliable agencies of government where people have hope on the kind of work that they were doing.

“At its inception, FERMA was properly funded. Engineers were always at work and contractors were equally fully engaged and people were doing quality work that minimized deterioration of roads in our states across the country.

“But this time around, if you see the extent of damages or deterioration that we have in all our roads infrastructure across the country, it is evident that what they have as a current amount of money that they are using on a yearly basis will not be able to solve their problem.

“This has been what almost everybody in the ministry, in the agency, have been crying about. Even those who are not even engineers, road users, everybody knows that FERMA needs to be supported in order for them to do more”.

Hussein said that it was part of the responsibilities of the committee to go around to see that the money appropriated for FERMA for the purpose of road maintenance was spent according to the purpose they were approved. He added that the committee was satisfied with the volume of work done in line with the 2024 approvals.

According to him, “After our meetings with the federal road maintenance engineers, the briefs that we received from the directors and the state engineers in charge, we are quite pleased with the volume of work they have done in line with our 2024 approvals.

“Take for instance 21 projects were awarded in the South-west 1, and the total of that 21 projects were fully completed. So, when you look at the job that has been done in line with what has been awarded, you really need to appreciate the team, that they have actually done what is expected of them.

“But, as a member of the committee on FERMA, it is not enough for us to believe that what has been done in documentation, or what has been seen in that documentation, is carried out as expected of it.

“That is why we are going round, to reconcile what we have been told and has been done on paper to what is really on ground, and it is in the light of that that we are here.”

Hussein said eight roads were to be done in Kwara State, adding that only five have been completed, while three are ongoing.

He stated, “So, out of the three that are ongoing, one of them (9-kilometer Offa Garage roundabout to College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies road) is where we are right now.

“And that is why I was curious to see the area that has been done, and the area that has not been done, so that we will be able to reconcile the two to the bill of quantities that we are looking as our template for the job.”

The FERMA committee chairman said President Bola Tinubu, with his Renewed Hope Agenda, especially as part of his primary objective in the area of road infrastructure, was determined to make all roads across the country motorable.

He said, “When you look at what he has invested, especially when you look at our current appropriation, you will see that he has a deliberate intention to see that all roads across the country are motorable.

“He is equally extending his activities into the construction of a lot of legacy projects to complement the existing projects that have been done, so that life will be much more comfortable for our people in the course of their travelling exercises.”

FERMA zonal leader for South-west, Engineer Babatunde Aina, earlier said the issue of funding was a major problem of the agency.

He said, “For example, we have a road of about nine kilometres, but the appropriation can only address critical sections. That does not mean that there are no sections that are bad.

“We have potholes all around, but we have to avoid those ones because of the amount that is being allocated.

“So, we address only critical sections, hoping that when the next budgetary allocation comes in, and this road is also mentioned for appropriation, we can also continue the project.”