The Minister of State for Works, Mohammad B. Goronyo, has criticized the insufficient budgetary allocation to the Federal Emergency Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), emphasizing its critical role in maintaining Nigeria’s road infrastructure.
Speaking during the 2025 budget defense session for FERMA at the National Assembly, Goronyo proposed a budget of N64.88 billion. The allocation includes N4.9 billion for personnel costs, N33.468 billion for overhead costs, and N26.487 billion for capital projects.
Goronyo highlighted that FERMA was allocated N96.7 billion in the 2024 Appropriation Act, which was later increased to N103.3 billion by the President. However, only N41.282 billion was disbursed by the Accountant General, of which N40.287 billion has been utilized to date.
“This budget prioritizes major trunk A roads across the six geopolitical zones, aligning with Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda for development and economic recovery,” Goronyo explained.
He noted that during the Senate committee’s oversight visit to FERMA’s headquarters, it became evident that the current yearly allocation is grossly insufficient to maintain Nigeria’s extensive federal road network, which requires over N700 billion for comprehensive upkeep.
The minister emphasized that the proposed budget for 2025 is significantly lower than the 2024 allocation and urged the committee to support FERMA in ensuring sustainable road infrastructure maintenance.
“Increased financial support will enable the scaling up of preventive maintenance efforts and promote sustainable road management practices,” he concluded.
Senate Committee Expresses Concerns
Chairman of the Senate Committee on FERMA, Senator Babangida Husaini, also voiced concerns over the agency’s funding. He questioned why priority is often given to constructing new roads rather than maintaining existing ones.
“Nigerians are crying out daily for repairs and maintenance of existing roads to ease movement and facilitate the transportation of goods,” Husaini said. He urged stakeholders to collaborate and find lasting solutions to the persistent issue of underfunding.
FERMA’s Challenges Highlighted
FERMA’s Managing Director, Agbasi Chukwuemeka, presented the 2024 budget performance report, detailing achievements in line with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as the length of roads maintained.
He outlined challenges including insufficient budgetary allocations, aging and distressed pavements, vandalized infrastructure, climate change impacts, adverse weather conditions, and the need to modernize the agency’s Human Resource Department to align with contemporary road management practices.
The minister and FERMA leadership reiterated the need for a significant increase in funding to ensure Nigeria’s road network supports national growth and development.
Comments
Loading…