The chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency
(FERMA), Gershom Bassey, has urged the federal government to release
N850 billion owed the agency to help it discharge its duties to
Nigerian people.
He said this was necessary because the increase in airfares would
increase the pressure on the neglected and dilapidated Nigerian roads
thereby worsening the bad state of the roads.
In a statement made available to our reporter in Calabar,Tuesday,
Bassey, who is the Cross River National Assembly Caucus chairman, said
he had already moved a motion on the floor of the Senate to ensure
that the federal government do the needful considering state of roads
in the country.
He said the debt owed FERMA has hampered the effective discharge of
FERMA’s primary responsibility of road maintenance and rehabilitation,
especially in the face of the astronomical increase in airfares.
“The sum of about N850 billion that is to accrue to FERMA by virtue of
the 5% user charge on pump price of petrol, diesel and international
vehicle transit charges provided for in Section 14 of FERMA
(Amendment) Act No.18 of 2007 is still being owed FERMA by the federal
government,” he stated.
Bassey, who represents Cross River South in the Red Chamber, said the
senate should, as a matter of urgency, declare a State of Emergency on
the nation’s federal roads.
He added that, “FERMA had a budgetary approval of just 20% of the
funds the agency requires for the rehabilitation of about 35,000km of
federal roads in 2022.”
He expressed concern that local airfares in Nigeria have risen by 63
per cent in response to a spike in the price of aviation fuel and
attendant cost of operation and noted, “the rise in airfare has pegged
the minimum Economy Class ticket at around N80,000 for travelers
buying a one-hour, one-way economy tickets.”
