Stakeholders in the highway and transportation sector have disclosed that the implementation of road reforms would put an end to the menace of bad roads in the country.
The concerned stakeholders spoke last Friday in Abuja at the end of the four-day workshop on “Managing Road Infrastructure Assets”, organised by the Nigeria Institution of Highway and Transportation Engineers (NIHTE) in collaboration with the International Road Federation (IRF).
Speaking to Journalists at the end of the workshop, the National Chairman of NIHTE, Engr. Saidu Hassan said:” We have capable trained engineers that can manage the road assets but the basic problem that we highlighted in this seasoned and thought-provoking programme is funding because it’s the major constraint and we’ll not get the right funding on the road until we have done the road reforms.
“If the road reforms are done then we’ll get the right funding and when we get the right funding our roads will be in good shape. Just like any Infrastructure we allow our roads to wind off their lifecycle before we start thinking of maintenance.
“Road Maintenance starts from day one but our policy makers and leaders have not paid so much attention to maintenance. We, as engineers, don’t provide the funds but work for the government agencies and the private sectors therefore, the government budgetary provision should make provision for maintenance.
“Why we are talking about road reforms because it will provide the opportunity for the private sector to be involved in maintenance and construction so that it won’t be the issue of the government alone”.
He compared the road situation to the previous NITEL and MTEL in the telecommunication sector, noting that everybody today has access to telecommunication when it was unbundled as private sectors invested in for-profit delivery with effective and efficiency through reformation.
” If road reforms are done the private sector will be interested in investing to ensure monitoring and maintenance for service delivery. There is no way you can run from a bad road if the right thing is not done”, he said.
The NIHTE boss tasked engineers to operate within the ethical standard of the profession in ensuring that road projects are executed within the specifications.
Comparing the Nigerian roads with global standards, the pioneer National Chairman of NIHTE, Engr. Dr. Isa Emoabino said: On highway acquisition, the problem we discovered is that our roads Infrastructures are below the international standards, and so we need to proffer remedies to meet that standard.
“It’s obvious that you cannot compare the roads that were constructed about 10 years ago to now but we’re working assiduously and collaboratively with stakeholders to ensure that our road contracts are qualitative and meet the standard.”
