By Angela Atabo
The Joint Committee of the National Assembly on the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has praised the agency for swift and quality road maintenance nationwide, while urging increased funding to sustain operations.
The commendation was given on Wednesday in Abuja during the agency’s defence of its 2025 budget implementation and presentation of its 2026 budget proposal before the joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on FERMA, Sahabi Ya’u, highlighted the strategic importance of road infrastructure to Nigeria’s economic development.
Ya’u said road networks remained the primary artery of national growth, noting that sustainable infrastructure was critical to achieving a one-trillion-dollar economy.
He said, “Roads are the bridge between rural agricultural productivity and urban markets. Once they fail, food inflation rises and our misery index deepens.
“Strategic road maintenance is a social investment in security, employment and economic stability.”
Also speaking, Chairman of the House Committee on FERMA, Aremi Oseni, commended the agency for the quality of work and standards observed during oversight visits.
Ya’u assured the agency of continued collaboration to ensure improved funding and enhanced performance in maintaining federal roads nationwide.
Earlier, presenting the proposal, the Minister of State for Works, Bello Goronyo, revealed that the proposed 2026 budget stood at N229.99 billion.
Goronyo explained that N191.47 billion was earmarked for capital expenditure, including the rollover of 70 per cent of ongoing 2025 capital projects into 2026.
“A total of 336 projects have been rolled over, comprising 291 road projects and 75 non-road projects, including streetlights and related infrastructure.
“Also, 70 per cent funding for these projects, amounting to N91.47 billion, has been rolled into the 2026 fiscal plan.
“The distribution of the projects cut across all states of the federation to ensure equitable infrastructure development,” the minister said.
Goronyo further disclosed that personnel costs in the 2026 proposal stood at N5.06 billion, while overhead expenditure is projected at ₦33.47 billion.
He affirmed that FERMA possessed the technical capacity to execute its mandate but identified inadequate funding as the agency’s primary constraint.
The minister also stressed the need to harmonise the budget cycle with procurement processes to enable contractors fully utilise the dry season for timely project delivery.
He appealed to lawmakers for sustained legislative support to strengthen the agency’s operational capacity.
Goronyo referenced the repeal of the five per cent user charge on petrol and diesel under the 2017 FERMA Amendment Act and its replacement with a five per cent fossil fuel surcharge under Section 159 of the new Tax Act.
He expressed optimism that FERMA would be included in the revenue distribution template under implementation of the 2025 National Tax Act. (NAN)
Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani
