FERMA: We Have Fixed 7,900km Roads in Four Years

* Blames deterioration of roads on climate change

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) said yesterday that the agency fixed 7,900 kilometres of dilapidated roads between 2018 and 2022, a period of four years.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the intervention agency, Managing Director of FERMA, Mr. Nurudeen Rafindadi, noted that with improved intervention, the work of the agency was being felt all over the country.
With a total of 50 offices across the nation, he explained that the agency remains the only one with the pool of qualified skilled profession whose only job is to fix existing roads.

Though a huge load, Rafindadi stressed that the agency has been able to cope with the burden fairly, adding that even though the rail network across the nation is being revived, roads continue to play the primary role as far as transport infrastructure in Nigeria is concerned.
Rafindadi blamed the rate of deterioration and aging of Nigerian roads on climate change, saying that a lot of roads had been repaired by the agency, thereby making life more bearable for Nigerians.

“From our latest report, we have hit about 7,900 kilometres of roads that were maintained by FERMA and that has risen from about 3,500 kilometres before 2018. This is primarily because of the level of funding that the ministry has been able to secure for FERMA with the approval of the National Assembly,” he stated.
He noted that while FERMA’s jurisdiction only covers about 18 per cent of the 200,000 kilometres of roads in the country, which is about 36,000 kilometres, it carries about 90 per cent of the entire load of the roads in the country.

He added that adequate personnel issues, technology, equipment and human capacity deficits remain major challenges if the agency, noting that abuse of roads was seriously affecting their longevity.

This year, he said FERMA would need at least 500 more staff because the existing employees were fast ageing and would need to be trained by the outgoing staff.
In his speech, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola stated that it was strange that Nigeria’s economy was still running despite ferrying most of its products by road.

He stated that FERMA should be an example to other agencies because of its capacity to get things done and to sort out internal squabbles.
He stated that aside roads building, maintenance could also provide massive jobs for Nigerians because they will degenerate over the years. Fashola also urged Nigerians to desist from destroying the country’s roads infrastructure.

Chairman of FERMA, Tunde Lemo, thanked his predecessors for building the agency, stressing that the responsibilities of the agency remain enormous.