By Perpetua Onuegbu
The Minister of Works, Sen. David Umahi says that good roads in the country will reduce inflation of goods and services.
Umahi said this at the inauguration of the Board of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) on Thursday in Abuja.
According to Umahi road infrastructure is critical to the socio-economic development of our nation noting that the critical sectors that drive economic growth rely greatly on road infrastructure development.
“We have a very critical situation with our roads all over the country and for me, the number one thing Nigerians needed like yesterday is road.
“If we fix our roads today, we will bring down inflation in this country, because bad road is affecting every aspect of our economic activities.
“Is it transportation of petroleum products, agricultural produce, trade, industry even free movement, education and hospital.
“A rich man could send his children to a private hospital or to a private school but he can never have private roads in this country, so this is a common denominator for everyone of us.”
The minister therefore urged the newly inaugurated members of Governing Board of FERMA to brace up to the challenges of road infrastructure maintenance facing the country.
He charged them to show unwavering commitment to the road maintenance programmes of the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Tinubu by being patriotic.
The minister thanked the President for appointing men of proven integrity and ability into the FERMA Board and for approving the 2023 Supplementary Budget which provided landmark interventions on the Federal roads.
He maintained that the enhanced budgetary provision for road infrastructure shows the President’s commitment in changing the narrative of road infrastructure.
“This underscores the fact that Mr President understands the plight of our people as far as our road infrastructure is concerned, he’s doing everything within the budget and outside the budget to fix our roads.
“And I want to assure Nigerians on behalf of Mr. President that our hopes are renewed in tackling our road infrastructure decays,” he said.
Umahi was optimistic that within the next two years the country would witness a magnificent transformation of roads in the country.
Earlier the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, Mr Mahmuda Mamman described the newly appointed members as men of proven competence and experience and expressed hope that they would perform in their new assignment.
In his acceptance speech on behalf of the newly constituted board, the Managing Director FERMA Dr Chukwuemeka Agbasi thanked the President for finding them worthy of the appointment as board members of FERMA.
He pledged their commitment to discharge their responsibilities with the fear of God and align with the policy of the Federal Minister of Works and also to the mandate of FERMA.
He also expressed the commitment of FERMA towards making a visible difference on the road condition and the travel experience of commuters in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that by section 3 of FERMA aAmendment Act 2007, the President had on October 13, 2023 approved the appointment of the members of the Governing Board of FERMA.
They include Dr Chukwuemeka Agbasi – Managing Director FERMA Chairman, Mr lbi Manasseh – Member, Dr Kenneth Ugbala – Member, Sen. Timothy Aduda – Member.
Others are Mr Babatunde Daramola, Hon. Preye Oseke, Mr Aminu Papa, Mr Abubakar Bappa,
Mr Shehu Mohammed and Mr Yusuf Othman.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)