Bad Roads: Bamisile Advocates For Concessioning ……… Says FERMA Helpless 

By Olarewaju Falayi

The Honourable Member representing Ekiti South Federal Constituency 2 comprising of the Ekiti East, Gbonyin and Emure local government areas who also double as the House Committee Chairman for FERMA at the Federal House of Representatives in Abuja, Honourable Femi Bamisile has advocated for the Concessioning of all the bad roads in the Country saying the maximum budgetary allocation of N250 million that can used be to renovate roads is no longer workable or feasible with present poor state of the Nigerian roads. 

The Ekiti State born Federal Lawmaker gave the message while responding to questions from pressmen during the formal traditional engagement / wedding of the parents of the first Female Gubernatorial Candidate of the Action Democratic Party in the last governorship election in Ekiti State, Erelu Elebute Josephine Halle which was held at the Palace of the Alasa of Ilasa Ekiti Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Oba Ajayi Omolagba Odanaogun IV who reconciled after 40 years of separation. 

Speaking further, Bamisile in his own words, said, “the poor condition of roads is not limited to Ekiti State and attest that it is now a national problem. He lamented how it has now become impossible for Nigerians to cope with the terrible condition of the roads”.

Continuing, Bamisile opined that, “the problem is not limited to our Country, Nigeria, and in extension the entire world. He drew the attention of Nigerians to the Country’s economic crisis in the world and blamed the development on the level of situations that we have found ourselves in the Country”.

He enjoined Nigerians to brace up and ensure it strategised and join hands to re-engineer the way things are presently done in the Country.

Also, he however expressed the confidence in the ability of the incoming administration in 2023 to put things right regarding the current state of the Nigerian roads. 

He also used the opportunity to re-emphasized on the need to do the concession of all the bad roads in the Country and pointing out that, most of our roads in Nigeria are 40 to 50 years old and will need to be totally re-engineered.

He added that, “the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA’s duty is limited to the maintenance of the Nigerian roads and that, going by that, it is no longer workable or feasible for the FERMA as a federal agency to continue managing the Nigerians roads optimally”.

Citing his own reason, he said, for instance, “to fix the Ilasa road, it will take nothing less than 2 billion for FERMA to do, and FERMA as it is today, cannot afford more than the sum of N250,000,000 for it’s constitutional mandate of maintaining the Country’s roads”. 

He therefore called for a review of the policy on the Nigerian roads to accommodate his suggestion on the need for the Concessioning of the roads.