The House of Representatives Committee on Works has given assurance that it will back the use of concrete for road construction in Nigeria, as better alternative to asphalt.
Chairman of the panel, Hon. Akin Alabi, gave the assurance during inauguration of the Committee at the National Assembly, saying that the use of asphalt had led to the deplorable state of roads infrastructure in Nigeria.
According to the lawmaker, the committee was prepared to provide sufficient supervision of the Federal Ministry of Works and its parastatals, assurimg that any money allocated for road construction and repair would be seen to deliver what it is meant for.
He said with effective oversight, there would be visible transformation in the nation’s road infrastructure.
“Order 8 (B) Rule 109 of the House Rukes gave the House Committee powers to oversight the Ministry of Works and its parastatals and agencies to ensure that there is value for funds expended on road construction and rehabilitation. Some of the agencies that the House Committee would ensure proper oversight include the Office of Surveyor-General of the Federation (OSGOF), Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), School of Surveying Oyo State and the Regional Centre for Training in Aerospace Survey RECTAS amongst others,” Alabi stated.
He said because of the difficulties facing the road sector, the committee which has representatives from all the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) needs to be more effective.
