Flood Threatens Road Repairs In North-East, Says FERMA

From Suzan Edeh, Bauchi
As rehabilitation work on federal roads in the North-East part of the country progresses, the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has lamented that the floods predicted by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) posed a great challenge on rehabilitation work on most federal roads of the North-east.
Executive Director, Roads Maintenance Management Services, Engineer Garba Mubi, who stated this yesterday in Bauchi in continuation of his assessment tour on federal roads in the north-east, said that FERMA’s capacity to deliver on road maintenance will be enhanced if more funds were injected into the agency.
He said: “When FERMA managing director sent me on this assessment tour, I took inventory of all the roads in the north-east consisting of Yobe, Borno, Gombe, Adamawa,Bauchi and Jigawa state. We particularly took note of all the areas on the roads that were washed out by flood and wrote reports to the agency.
“There was late rains this year and we were told by NIMET that there will be heavy floods, particularly in the north-east. In Jigawa state for instance, what we saw was terrible. There was heavy flood that washed away our structures and this was due to the flooding of the river banks and dams which spilled into the roads”
“However, in spite of the floods, work is still in progress and is moving excellently. The good news is that the agency has assured us of its full support in this rehabilitation work, so we are encouraged to put in our best.
“All through the nation now, the rehabilitation work FERMA is embarking on is road monitoring, reinstating the roads and pothole patching through direct labour because of the rainy season. In October, full rehabilitation work will commence on our roads”
Garba who described rehabilitation work on the roads as excellent, said that FERMA would deliver on its mandate of effectively and efficiently maintaining federal roads nationwide, within available resources.
He called on the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to support the agency in order to maintain good roads in the country.