FERMA’s N64.88 Billion 2025 Budget Prioritises Trunk ‘A’ Roads
The Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), has proposed a total of Sixty-four billion, eight hundred and eighty-eight million Naira (N64,888,000,000.00) for its 2025 budget giving priority to major Trunk ‘A’ roads in the country.
It comprised of N4.9 billion for personnel costs, N33.468 billion as overhead, and N26.487 billion for capital expenditures.
FERMA said that its prioritizing of major trunk ‘A’ roads within the six geopolitical zones waas in alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s development and economic recovery objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
A statement by Mrs Maryam Sanusi, Director of Information and Public Relations, stated that the proposed figure is less than the N77 billion Naira for year 2024.
The Minister of State for Works, Mr Muhammad Bello Goronyo, Esq., who is the supervising Minister of the Agency, led the budget defence of the Agency before the joint session of the Senate and House Committees on FERMA.
Goronyo assured members of the joint committees that FERMA is committed to ensuring transparency and accountability, using data-driven decision-making and regular community engagement in road maintenance planning.
The minister further said that FERMA in collaboration with key stakeholders are working to reduce the burden of maintenance of road assets nationwide on the federal government.
He said; “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 ease of movement of people, goods and services”.
Goronyo expressed gratitude to members of the joint Committees of the Senate and House for their unwavering support in ensuring sustainable development and maintenance of Federal roads infrastructure in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda to enhance infrastructure and transportation as enablers of growth.
In his presentation before the Committees, Managing Director of FERMA, Mr. Emeka Agbasi reiterated the paucity of funds of the Agency, saying that adequate funding was needed to enable it increase activities in preventive maintenance and other interventions on Federal Roads across the country.
Agbasi also said that FERMA is faced with enormous challenges as a result of low budgetary allocation, adding that inadequate releases of fund for the 2024 budget, negatively affected the ability of the Agency to maintain the roads.
Other challenges he enumerated that are facing the Agency included age factors of the roads as most of the roads were constructed in the early 1970s and required total rehabilitation.
He also noted that abuse of the roads by Nigerians is another factor that is reducing road lifespan.
In his remarks, the Senate Committee Chairman on FERMA, Senator Hussaini Babangida, frowned at the practice of embarking on construction of new roads without adequate measures to maintain existing ones, stressing that funds for road maintenance are highly inadequate because of the poor conditions of the roads.
Babangida canvassed for alternative sources of funding so as to increase funding for the road sector.
