Reps to probe FERMA activities

The House of Representatives on Wednesday resolved to investigate the operational activities of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) from 2015 till date.

The House resolved that the probe would cover utilisation of billions of naira released to FERMA between September 2015 till date with a view to seeing that Nigerian roads “are fixed”

The House committee on FERMA is expected to carry out the probe and would  report back to the House within two  weeks.

The House resolution was sequel to a motion of urgent public importance moved by Honourable Adamu Kamale and four others entitled “the arbitrary and unauthorised creation of positions of acting executive directors in FERMA in outright violation of provisions of FERMA establishment Act, 2012”.

The lawmaker and others  maintained that “Section 1(2) of the FERMA Act ‎provides for a governing board whose composition is well-defined by Section 2 sub section 2 of the Act”.

While moving the motion, the Lawmaker alleged that, “between 2015 to 2016      so much billions of naira has been released to FERMA without commensurate work to show for the amount received so far and that the acting Executive Directors and acting Managing directors “illegally appointed are  partly those who have sat over the disbursement of the fund”.

The Lawmaker said that by the provision of Section 2(2) of the FERMA Act 2002, “the positions of Acting Executive Directors has not been created and therefore does not exist and is not known to the Act”.

To this end, he said there was an urgent need to correct the illegally being perpetrated in FERMA by the acting Managing Director and also to investigate the usage of fund because almost all the roads in Nigeria are dilapidated.

When the motion was put to vote by the Deputy Speaker, Honourable Lasun Yusuf who presided over the session it was supported by majority of the lawmakers.