1 month ago
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The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Ministry of Works to allocate 20 per cent of its 2025 Appropriation to the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency to enhance its operations.
This resolution followed the adoption of a motion on the “Need to Increase the Budgetary Allocation to the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency for the Maintenance and Repairs of Federal Roads Across the Country,” moved by Aderemi Oseni at Tuesday’s plenary.
Leading the debate, Oseni noted that the Federal Government is committed to enhancing economic activities and productivity by ensuring the effective maintenance and repair of federal roads throughout the year.
The lawmaker, however, expressed concerns that the majority of federal roads across the country are in a state of disrepair, causing economic loss to both governments and citizens due to years of neglect.
Oseni stated, “The Federal Roads Maintenance Agency is the agency with the mandate to maintain and rehabilitate all federal roads across the country and has been doing its best with the paltry budgetary allocation it receives annually.
“This cannot make any significant impact due to the large number of roads across the country that need urgent repairs and rehabilitation.”
He added that the inadequate funding of FERMA translates to outright neglect in the maintenance of the roads, stating, “About N300 billion to N500 billion is required annually to maintain the federal roads.”
The lawmaker noted that the annual budget of FERMA has been a meagre sum of about N25 billion to N50 billion within the last two years, “which is about 10 per cent of the required amount.”
He continued, “The Federal Ministry of Works in the 2024 budget has about N1 trillion. There is a need to allocate 20 per cent of the Ministry of Works’ budget to FERMA in the 2025 budget estimates to enable FERMA to fulfil the purpose of its establishment regarding the maintenance of existing roads.
“There is a need to increase the budgetary allocation of FERMA in the 2025 budget estimates to enable it to discharge its responsibilities effectively and engender economic growth in the country,” he added.
The motion was referred to the Committee on Works for further legislative action.
