From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
The Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has proposed a total of N64,888,000,000.00 for the 2025 budget appropriation, comprising N4.9 billion for personnel costs, N33.468 billion for overhead costs, and N26.487 billion for capital costs.
The budget prioritises major trunk ‘A’ roads within the six geopolitical zones, aligning with Mr. President’s development and economic recovery objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda. The amount is less than the N77 billion proposed for the year 2024.
The Minister of State for Works, Muhammad Bello Goronyo, who is the supervising minister of the agency, made this opening presentation today at the budget defence before the joint session of the Senate and House Committees on FERMA. The minister assured that FERMA is committed to ensuring transparency and accountability, using data-driven decision-making and regular community engagement in road maintenance planning.
He disclosed that, in collaboration with the committees and key stakeholders, efforts to reduce the burden on the Federal Government’s maintenance of road assets nationwide are being explored.
“FERMA is in the process of developing, modifying, and redefining key policies which will generate resources for the agency to proactively maintain our roads for the ease of movement of people, goods, and services,” he said.
Goronyo further expressed gratitude to members of the committees for their unwavering support in ensuring the sustainable development and maintenance of federal road infrastructure in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda to enhance infrastructure and transportation as enablers of growth.
In his presentation before the committees, the Managing Director of FERMA, Engineer Emeka Agbasi, reiterated the paucity of funds in the agency, noting that adequate funding is needed to enable the agency to increase its activities in preventive maintenance and other interventions on federal roads across the country.
In a statement, he stressed that the agency is faced with enormous challenges due to low budgetary allocation. He noted that inadequate releases of funds for the 2024 budget have negatively affected the ability of the agency to maintain the roads.
Other challenges facing the agency include the age of the roads. Many of the roads, he said, were constructed in the early 70s and require total rehabilitation. Also, he stressed that the abuse of the roads by Nigerians is another factor that is reducing the lifespan of the roads.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on FERMA, Senator Hussaini Babangida, frowned at the practice of continuously constructing new roads without adequate measures to maintain existing ones. He noted that the funds for road maintenance are highly inadequate due to the poor conditions of the roads. He is of the view that alternative sources of funding should be explored to increase funding for the road sector.