The Federal Road Maintenance Agency will undertake the maintenance of bad roads across the country in two phases with 104 and 71 roads respectively, an official has said.
Maryam Sanusi, the Head of Communications/Public Relations Unit of the agency, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Tuesday that award letters would be issued to contractors within the next two weeks.
Sanusi expressed: “We advertised quite a number of roads and people have bidded for them; we have analysed the bids and we are at the point of awarding letters.
“Phase one comprises of 104 roads while phase two has 71 roads; both phases have been advertised; we have finished analyzing phase one.
“We are analyzing phase two and because of the state of the roads, we do not want to tie down the whole processes until we finish the analyses.
“We will give out the award letters for phase one while we continue to analyze phase two.”
Sanusi said that the agency’s budget captured priority roads, adding that every state of the federation would benefit in the maintenance exercise.
She identified some of the roads mapped out for repairs to include Idi Ape-Oloje Road in Kwara State and the Maiduguri-Bama-Gwoza-Mubi Road among many others.
She said that the Aliade-Oturkpo Road in Benue State would undergo general maintenance, while critically failed sections of Umuahia-Ariam-Ikot Ekpene Roads in Abia State would also be rehabilitated and maintained.
Sanusi said that in spite of funding challenges confronting FERMA just like other government establishments, the agency was committed to its mandate of ensuring that federal roads were motor able.
She, therefore, gave an assurance that the roads would be fixed before the Yuletide season in December when the nation witnessed heavy traffic movement.
She explained: “I want to believe that before the yuletide period, which is in the next three months, the roads will be fixed in such a way that all roads will be motorable for Nigerians to enjoy a sweet ride.
“Once contract letters are awarded in the next two weeks, the contractors will be mobilized to site.
“Once they are on site, these issues of critically failed portions and potholes on the roads will be a thing of the past.’’
Sanusi said the agency had the required personnel, including engineers to supervise the works according to specifications.
She expressed regret that the rainy season had hindered the maintenance of the roads, saying that road repairs were better done during the dry season.
Sanusi also stated: “It is still raining; by the time the dry season comes, work will be intensified and dry season helps them to move faster.
Because of the nature of the work, we will manage to do some during the rainy period.
“It might not be fast but from October to March, I am sure we are going to progress speedily.”
The FERMA’s spokesperson, however, decried the high rate of abuse of the roads through man-made activities such as burning of tyres, erecting markets on the road and removal of hand rails from bridges.
She also noted that some communication companies cut roads indiscriminately to lay cables, without reference to the managing authorities and abandon them thereafter.
She stated further: “We want to note that some of our communication companies just cut the road to lay cables; when they lay cables, they do not get in touch with the ministry or agency to get it well fixed.
“They just leave it like that. That action will have caused a depression on the road which will further widen out; sometimes the road cuts as a result of that.
“Some people abuse the road by burning tyres which eventually burns out the asphalt and cause crack on the road.”
Sanusi said that efforts were ongoing to re-introduce measures to curtail abuse on highways through the installation of weigh-bridges to check excessive loading.
According to her, trailer parks will also be constructed to discourage indiscriminate parking along the roads.
Stressing that road maintenance usually takes time, she appealed to Nigerians to assist the agency by protecting the roads against unnecessary abuse.
She said that FERMA would soon reactivate its Federal Roads Committee on Surveillance and Action against Road Abuse scheme designed to educate and sensitize the populace against road abuse.