…call for replacement of management of ministry
By Gloria Ikibah
The House of Representatives has queried the ministry of Works over the deplorable state of the Nigerian roads, calling for a total replacement of the management of the ministry.
Chairman, Commitee on FERMA, Rep. Remi Oseni issued the query during an interactive session with the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and Minister of Works on Thursday in Abuja.
According to the chairman, the ministry despite been allocated huge amount of money has not utilized the resources in fixing bad roads across the country.
Rep. Oseni express displeasure at the response of the representative of the Minister of Works, who is the Director Bridges and design, Bede Obiora, when he said the roads were bad due to the unavailability of funds by the ministry.
Obiora said: “The Ministry does not know how to address the challenges. But the issue is when you ask for resources, are those resources available? That is the big challenge. Yes, we’ve heard your request, about the 20 percent. We will do what we can. But, Mr. Chairman, you agree with me that it is still the National Assembly that does the appropriation, not the ministry. All we do is to do a proposal. The final result we get is after the appropriation by the National Assembly.
“So, we will still be bringing back the same request you gave us to your committee and urge you to assist us in clear terms about how this problem can be solved. The big challenge is the resources. Whether you go to budget, whether you go to visit the president, anywhere you go, the challenge is I need 1 billion Naira, what is available is N100,000. So, the issue now is how do we manage this little resource to address this enormous challenge”.
In response the Chairman of the Commitee insisted that the ministry has over the years not made repair of roads a priority, rather they award contract on yearly basis without maintaining already constructed roads.
“Where we find ourselves call for serious dedication, it calls for a total replacement of the management of the entire ministry for everyone of course to be identified
with the challenges that we are going through in the area of this road.
“We are not here for business of whether you want to do the job or you don’t want to do the job. How can you be telling us that there is no resources? In less than one minute, from everything that everybody has said, it’s a clue. You have no plan for us as a nation.
“It’s unfair to us as a nation. Tell me specifically where we have good roads. You are not concentrating your attention on fixing existing bad roads.
“Don’t tell me about the issue of resources. I’m sorry, we will not accept this. And if you want us to escalate things, let’s go into debates. What you are wasting on things that are not relevant for now to address other issues are much more important than what you are doing. I put it to you. If we are not honest enough to address some of these issues, you would have solve this problem at once.
“We are wasting our resources than solving our problems. I am not interested in emotion. I am concerned about how to fix Nigerian roads.
“We are not here for apology or asking whether you want to do it or you don’t want to do it. And that is why I feel sad that the Honorable Minister is not here in person. So that we can open our minds and see how we can fix our problem.
“There is no way you can relate the way we are feeling as individuals. We did not invite you because we wanted to see the Minister’s face. We invited you because we wanted to solve the problem. And tell us in a clear and scientific way. For us, you are only telling us you know there is no resources. And that is the end of the essence of your being here.
“It’s simple. Go and tell them that we don’t have resources. So, what is important is go and solve Nigerian road challenges.
“Go and review your job methodology. If you have an existing rule, you are not concentrating on how you want to get them resolved. And you are only concentrating on awarding contracts that you know they are not ready to execute.
“It’s not fair. Now, that brings me back to the issue of these resources that we are talking about. Sir, 60%, I don’t want to exaggerate, of why almost all the roads fail at the same time, has to do with the quality of your work.
“Poor quality delivery. I told them, I saw some of your contractors working across the country. You will be ashamed that you are supervising the jobs. I was at some sites. I was almost calling the minister when they told me that the job was awarded by Minister of Works. So, don’t discuss resources. You will take me out of this place.
“Majority of the roads that they are repairing on a daily basis, or they are maintaining on a regular basis, are roads that will last 2-3 years, they are bad. Sir, that road failed less than a year after it was completed. You are still separating the state contractors to execute major highways in the country. Don’t discuss resources.
The committee however demanded that the ministry go back to the drawing board to put an end to the state of roads across the country.