Federal Gov’t Needs Alternative Funding To Maintain 35,000km Road Networks — Minister

The Minister of State for Works, Muhammad Bello Goronyo, has disclosed that the over 35,000 kilometres of the Federal Government road network across Nigeria could not be funded through annual budgets alone, hence the need to source for alternative funding outside the government’s coffers.

Goronyo stated this on on Monday while addressing the Management and staff of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Kogi State Field Office at Lokoja during a maiden visit alongside its MD/CEO, Engr. Chukwumeka Agbasi.

The Minister, in a statement by the Director Information of the Ministry, Mohammed Ahmed, said: “About 35,000 kilometres of roads cannot be funded and maintained overnight. We have to look for alternative sources of funding so that we can continue to maintain our physical assets, which are the roads. We have to create new ways of funding and new alternatives.”

He assured that the federal government was focused on ensuring that projects are completed in a timely and efficient manner with robust oversight and contractors’ compliance.

He added: “I am calling on all of you to support us to ensure that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu succeeds in his mandate to deliver on the 8-point Renewed Hope Agenda. We must put Nigeria first before our interests. Let us fix our roads, we must think positively.”

Goronyo reaffirmed that President Tinubu’s administration was determined to fix all the roads to ensure a drastic reduction in the level of unemployment, rate of crimes, and insecurity.

According to him, “Let me commend President Tinubu, GCFR for his determination. I have never seen a President so committed to sustaining physical assets nationwide. The administration gives priority to various road projects scattered across the country. This shows that he is a patriotic Nigerian. He is undertaking these projects so that our economy can be improved, and the rate of unemployment, poverty, and crimes will be reduced. We are seeing the Super Highways from Ilelah to Sokoto to Badagry and another from Lagos to Calabar.”

Goronyo, who commended the staff of FERMA for their resilience and hard work over the years, noted that despite insecurity, and inadequate funding, Nigerians have been commending them for their excellent work.

He urged them to bear with the Ministry of Works over their entitlements, disclosing that their requests for adjustment and increment in consequential salaries have been forwarded to the Salaries, Income, and Wages Commission for consideration and approval.

Earlier, the MD/CEO of FERMA, Engineer Chukwumeka Agbasi, commended the Ministry of Works for its determination to ensure that the 8-point agenda of President Tinubu was realised, especially road projects across the country.

He informed the agency staff that before the end of the year, there would be an increment in their salaries and he appealed to them to continue to support and partner with the Ministry to achieve their targeted goals.

In his remarks, Engineer Muktar Abdurahim, the officer in charge of the Kogi Field Office of FERMA, informed the Minister that the office has 37 staff comprising 25 permanent and 12 casual workers. He disclosed that Kogi State has16 federal roads with a total of 1,263 kilometres, emphasising that the 2024 nationwide flood incident did not affect any of the roads in the state.

Engr. Abdulrahim revealed that out of six roads under construction in the state, five have been successfully executed, while one was at 60% completion stage. He informed the Ministerthat they were facing challenges such as insecurity, and hyperinflation on the cost of construction materials, amongst others.

Furthermore, the Director, North-Central Zone I, Engr Omotayo Awodun, commended the Federal Government’s commitment to fixing all the federal roads across Nigeria, especially those in his zone, he also applauded the leadership style of the Minister of Works for his innovation, where new techniques and stricter supervision were being enforced.