Senate to write presidency over state of federal roads

Concerned about the near collapse of the entire road infrastructure in the country, the Senate on Wednesday resolved to set up an ad-hoc committee to compile all the federal roads in poor conditions, either awarded but abandoned by contractors or not awarded at all and forward to the Presidency.

The Senate resolution was a sequel to a motion, ‘Collapse of Road Infrastructure in Nigeria’, sponsored by Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin and co-sponsored by 105 of his colleagues.

The Senate also tasked the Federal Government to seize the initiative on the concession of federal roads through a partnership with private companies.

The Senate also advised the Bola Tinubu administration to consider sourcing funds from the capital market.

The Senate noted that some of the federal roads have been awarded for either construction and rehabilitation only to be abandoned by the contractors after moving to the site.

The lawmakers recalled that several trillions of Naira have been spent on road construction and rehabilitation in Nigeria since democracy returned to Nigeria in 1999 with minimal impact on our roads.

The Senate observed that the collapse of the road infrastructure has virtually cut off many parts of Nigeria, with its attendant negative impact on trade and commerce.

The Red Chamber further observed that the collapse has led to a decline in agricultural activities, adversely affecting the movement of agricultural produce from rural areas and across the country, resulting in a slide in the country’s agricultural output and economy especially now the country needs to diversify its economy.

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