…Knocks Fashola over comment

By Rotimi Ojomoyela, Ado-Ekiti

The Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Federal Road Maintenance Agency(FERMA), Hon Femi Bamisile, has described some federal roads across the country as deplorable and pathetic, calling on the government to release the sum of 12 billion naira to the agency for road rehabilitation before yuletide season.

Hon. Bamisile made this call in Erio-Ekiti on Friday while inspecting a collapsed bridge along Aramoko-Erio-Efon highway.

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The lawmaker urged the Minister of Works, Mr. Babatunde Fashola to ply some federal highways across the country, rather than saying the complaints about the bad shape of roads were a complete exaggeration.

‘I don’t know where the Minister got that information from. Our roads are bad and in a sorry state and nothing more to describe it.

“I want to believe that whoever says people’s complaints about our roads are mere hype must either be downplaying the situation or maybe the person doesn’t ply our roads at all.

“I saw a documentary about federal roads in Anambra state recently. In fact, I saw a road that had totally cut off. The Minister must accept the reality that our roads need serious attention,” he said.

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Bamisile praised governor Kayode Fayemi for releasing a sum of N19 million to the contractor to carry out palliative works on the collapsed portion of the road.

“Temporary measure can’t work on this collapsed portion. We need to divert the highway and do a thorough job here because this road was built on an old small culvert.

“Government must direct Dangote company to remove all the abandoned trucks inside ditches along the highway, they are constituting a serious problem on our highways.

“It is quite unfortunate that our federal highways are like this and if you look well, this road is gradually cutting off. Three-quarters of the road had receded and it is unacceptable.

“We have just completed the process of budgeting and FERMA got a sum of N29 billion in the 2019 appropriation bill, this is too small to carry out major works on our roads, they are in bad shapes. The National assembly has made a good case that it would not be enough.

“The Committees in charge of FERMA in the House of Representatives and the Senate had requested an emergency fund of N12 billion to be released as a matter of urgency for this Yuletide for the sake of our people and country.

“As a minimum, a sum of N2b for each geopolitical zone to FERMA will go a long way in helping us carry out major repairs on our bad roadways.

“The situations of our federal roads are bad and pathetic and our people don’t deserve this. The federal government must allow the states to attend to them to rescue our people and save them from pains”. he maintained.

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