Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Toby Okechukwu, has expressed serious concern over bad state of Nigerian roads, urging the Presidency to support National Assembly’s effort to provide lasting solutions.
Okechukwu in a New Year message to Nigerians on Wednesday, observed that the ugly state of Nigerian roads could only change if the nation also changed her approach to road governance and funding, adding that experience over the years had shown that the road needs could not be met through annual budgetary provisions.
The former chairman of the House committee on Works also noted that annual budgets for the roads were not only very marginal when compared to the challenges, but were also never substantially released.
“Finding lasting solutions to the poor state of Nigerian roads should take pre-eminence in 2020 because Nigerians deserve good roads to meet their socio-economic needs.
“Therefore, the House of Representatives passed the National Roads Fund Bill and Federal Roads Bill as permanent solutions to the poor road infrastructure.
“While the National Road Fund Bill will establish a National Roads Fund to provide predictable and sustainable funding for road maintenance in order to promote the sustainable development and management of the nation’s road network, the Federal Roads Bill will establish an agency to govern and manage the nation’s federal roads network.
“Although both Bills did not receive presidential assent in the 8th National Assembly, we reintroduced and passed them in the current House of Representatives, just before the Christmas break, as they remain the real panacea to our road challenges”, the lawmaker stated.
