Senate Demands Rehabilitation of Federal Roads as Air Fare Soars

•FG to declare state of emergency on roads

Sunday Aborisade

The Senate yesterday lamented the deplorable state of federal roads in the country and called on the federal government to as a matter of urgency commence their immediate rehabilitation

The red chamber also asked the President Muhammadu Buhari-led central government to declare a state of emergency on the nation’s federal roads.

The upper chamber, equally asked the federal government to immediately settle its indebtedness to the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA). It noted that paying money owed FERMA, would make the agency to carry out its primary responsibility of rehabilitating federal roads, especially in the face of the astronomical increase in airfares.

These were resolutions reached yesterday by the Senate, following a point of order raised to draw its attention to the increase in airfare and the implication for Nigerian roads.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on FERMA, Senator Gershom Bassey, raised the point of order at plenary.

He lamented that local airfares in Nigeria have risen by 63 per cent in response to a spike in the price of aviation fuel and attendant cost of operation.

He said the rise in airfare had pegged the minimum Economy Class ticket at around N80,000 for travellers buying a one-hour, one-way economy tickets.

He expressed worry that the increase in airfares would increase the pressure on the neglected and dilapidated Nigerian roads and further worsen their state.

The lawmaker noted that FERMA had a budgetary approval of just 20 per cent of the funds the agency requires for the rehabilitation of about 35,000km of federal roads in 2022.

Bassey observed that the federal government had yet to pay the sum of about N850 billion that was to accrue to FERMA by virtue of the five per cent user charge on pump price of petrol, diesel and international vehicle transit charges provided for in Section 14 of FERMA (Amendment) Act No.18 of 2007.

The Senator said, “The humongous debt owed FERMA by the Federal Government has hampered the effective discharge of FERMA’s primary responsibility of road maintenance and rehabilitation.”