Against the worrisome backdrop of decay and dilapidation of federal roads in Bauchi, Governor Bala Mohammed has disclosed plans by the state government to establish the State Road Maintenance Agency to be saddled with the responsibility of renovating roads in the state.
The governor made the disclosure when he paid a visit to the Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Engr. Nuruddeen RafinDadi in his office at the weekend.
Bala, who was visibly worried, also expressed the readiness of his administration to establish the agency to complement the efforts of the federal government in the rehabilitation and maintenance of major state roads.
Governor Bala had earlier briefed the FERMA boss on the deplorable conditions of the following federal roads in the state including; the Bauchi – Alkaleri – Gombe; Kari – Misau – Yana – Kwanan Huguma; and Yashi – Duguri roads.
The governor commended the leadership of FERMA for their intervention in road rehabilitation and maintenance across Nigeria in view of the contending demands and also requested for urgent intervention in the rehabilitation of the affected roads in the state.
In his response, Engr. Rafin Dadi commended Governor Bala Mohammed for his visionary leadership and assured him of his determination to give special attention to the rehabilitation and maintenance of federal roads in Bauchi state.
The FERMA DG further lamented that the mandate given to the agency was tough and quite challenging, considering the limited resources available to it.
He, however, expressed optimism with the response from people on the effectiveness of the intervention.
The DG also stressed that Bauchi being the gateway of the north east states where insecurity has become the order of the day, deserved every support from FERMA for continuous development and improvement of services in the area of road maintenance.
