THE Federal Road Emergency Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has assured Nigerians of the Federal Government’s plans to repair damaged federal roads in the country. The Federal Road Maintenance Engineer in charge of Abia State, Festus Okafor, who conducted journalists around the affected roads said the move was to make federal roads in the state passable without stress. Okafor said, “More federal roads will receive attention as we get more funds. We are waiting for more funds to enable us to tackle massive failures on federal roads in the state.” Okafor noted that the FERMA has commenced repairs of three federal roads in Abia State.
“The affected roads include Aba-Azumini-Akwa Ibom Road; Umuahia- Bende- Ohafia Road; and Uturu-Mile 2- Ebonyi border Road. “We have washouts threatening to cut some roads, especially Umuahia-Bende Road. We have done quick intervention through direct labour. We have also done some patch works on Aba-Azumini Road, and Uturu Mile 2 – Ebonyi border Road to keep them motorable and reduce hardship on motorists,” Okafor noted.
He said the tour of the affected roads is in line with the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, aimed at making life stress-free for motorists and commuters in the state. Okafor who explained that the repairs and patch[1]works were being executed through direct labour, appealed to commuters in the state to be patient with the agency, assuring that other federal roads in the state would also receive attention based on the availability of resources.
According to him, the delays in intervention are usually caused by the bureaucracy involved in approvals concerning those that require contracts. Okafor explained that intervention could come faster through direct labour if the damage were not of large scale. He said, “The ongoing patch works started two weeks ago and it is part of our proactive efforts to avoid further damage on the roads by arresting the situation early. He commended President Tinubu for mobilising the agency to enable it to discharge its duties. He also thanked the Managing Director of FERMA, Dr Chukwuemeka Agbasi for being proactive which is part of the reason for the successes recorded in the state.
