Fashola — Works and Housing
The House of Representatives has rejected the decision by the federal government to ban state governors from rehabilitating federal roads in their respective states.
President Muhammadu Buhari had asked state governors not to fix federal roads if they will eventually demand a refund for the rehabilitation. According to the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, the President issued the directive due to the humongous amounts being claimed by the governors after repairing federal roads in their states.
The lower chamber urged the government to rescind the decision in the best interest of Nigerians, noting that such a decision would further worsen the deplorable conditions of federal roads in the country.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Federal Road Maintenance Agency(FERMA) Honourable Femi Bamisile stated this while speaking in Ado-Ekiti on Friday when members of the committee inspected the collapsed bridge on Ureje river along Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, which caved in after a torrential downpour on Monday and killed a man in the process.
Bamisile, who is representing Ekiti South Federal constituency II, revealed that federal government was financially incapacitated to rehabilitate all roads in the country, noting that states with the wherewithal should be allowed to work on them in the best interest of people plying the roads.
“The House of Representatives will debate the order and address it properly because we can’t subject our people to hardship of bad roads.
“The deplorable states of our road is disturbing and that order coming at a time like this when the FG has no capacity to give necessary attentions to these roads across the Federation makes it imperative for House of Representatives to address the situation.
“Governor Kayode Fayemi even told me that he has a letter from the Federal Ministry of Works on his table telling him not to rehabilitate federal roads that it should be left for the federal to undertake. I am assuring Nigerians that the National assembly will look into the matter. That directive can’t hold water.”
Bamisile commended Governor Kayode Fayemi and the founder of ABUAD, Chief Afe Babalola, SAN for the palliatives they provided on the bridge to reconnect the disconnected communities.
” It was disturbing that a man was killed during the flood I was devastated by the news, because we were elected to defend the rights of our people. I will be meeting the minister of works by Monday to further discuss on the need for urgent work to begin on this road.
“I want to say that the FG must declare emergency on road sector without delay. Our roads are bad and as Representatives of the people, we must give them quality services having voted for us. We don’t have to wait and allow the people to die before taking actions,” he said.
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