A member of the House of Representatives representing Ede North/Ede South/Egbedore/Ejigbo Federal Constituency, Bamidele Salam, has faulted the claim by Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, that Nigerian roads are not as bad as being portrayed.
Salaam thereby challenged Fashola and other relevant stakeholders to travel by road for 90 days to know the true position of Nigeria roads. In a response to Fashola’s claim, signed and made available to news men in Osogbo, Osun state capital, Salam said “I found this statement, which had been repeated by the Hon Minister at least on two previous occasions as a clear indication that some of us in public offices are not at all in tune with the horrendous realities of our fellow citizens’ daily experience.
“Appreciating what Nigerians go through on our bad roads daily, requires that public office holders put themselves in the shoes of the average Nigerian and get a firsthand experience of how Nigerians survive on a daily basis.
The Rep member insisted that Fashola and every relevant stakeholder should use Nigerian roads for a reasonable length of time to understand the yearnings of Nigerians, saying “As a Member of the House of Representatives Committee on Works, I will be throwing a road travel challenge to the Hon Minister and all Persons concerned to avoid air travel for all local trips in the next 90 days.
“If we will agree to this challenge, we may come back with a better appreciation of the true state of our road infrastructure and the desperate things we need to do to save our economy from further disruptions as a result of the burgeoning crisis in the road transportation sector.”
