The Minister of State for Works, Bar. Bello Goronyo, has blamed poor performance of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) on poor annual budgetary allocation.
“While the agency requires an estimated 880 billion naira annually for optimal road conditions, budgetary allocations have consistently fallen short—N76.3 billion in 2023, N103.3 billion in 2024, and N168.9 billion budgeted for 2025”, the minister stated on Monday in Abuja in a goodwill message as the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee investigating the remittance and implementation of the five percent user charge on petroleum products to FERMA, commenced public hearing.
The agency’s establishment Act had specified the charge on pump price of petroleum products to be remitted to FERMA, but the House in resolution on March 19, 2025, directed an investigation over alleged noncompliance with the law, by relevant stakeholders.
The minister insisted that that while the cited budgetary figures showed gradual increases, “they remain far below the necessary threshold for sustainable road maintenance,” adding that “the 5% user charge, as enshrined in the FERMA Act, was designed to serve as a sustainable funding mechanism for road maintenance and rehabilitation.
According to him, “for years, FERMA has grappled with severe funding inadequacies, hampering its ability to maintain our vast road network effectively. This persistent funding gap has forced FERMA into a reactive mode of maintenance rather than a preventive approach.”
Declaring the session open, Speaker of the House, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen charged the Committee to be diligent in the investigation.
“The assignment for this Committee is clear: Nigeria now looks up to you to ask the relevant questions and scan through the necessary documents to establish how much has accrued from the collection of the 5% user charge from the date of commencement of the law till the time of this investigation and how much standing to the benefit of FERMA and similar agencies at the state level,” he said.
In his welcome remarks earlier, Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Francis Waive assured that the panel would thoroughly scrutinize the actions of all relevant institutions involved in the alleged violation of the FERMA Act, adding that the Committee will ensure the full recovery any misused funds.