Grace Egila
Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and the Anambra state government have expressed readiness to form a productive and strategic partnership to maintain roads in the state.
A statement on Tuesday by the Director of Information, Maryam M. Sanusi, said the Managing Director, Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Engr. Nuruddeen Rafindadi and the Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo made the announcement recently during a courtesy visit to the FERMA headquarters.
According to the statement, the Managing Director said he was happy with the coming of Gov. Soludo to FERMA, saying that his proposal for a productive partnership was a great idea which the Agency is pleased to accept.
He said that partnering with the Anambra State Road Maintenance Agency was a professional strategy by the Governor.
“The Agency will pull its expertise to work with the State Agency to fix roads across the state.
“FERMA is the first and only government Agency that has the widest scope and expertise on road maintenance in Nigeria, it has competent staff that can work wonders when challenged, ’’ he added.
He said Anambra state has 14 federal roads of about 682 kilometers and that half of the Agency’s attention during EMBER months is usually focused on the South Eastern States especially Anambra state because of its status of being the gateway to other parts of the country.
Rafindadi said the Agency has justified its mandate of efficiently and effectively monitoring and administering road maintenance with the objective of keeping all federal roads in good and safe conditions across the federation.
He also mentioned a number of roads in Anambra that have been maintained and that the Agency will continue in its giant stride, especially with the partnership.
Earlier, Soludo said the purpose of his visit was to commend FERMA for the good job they are doing in Nigeria and particularly in the state.
According to the governor, transportation is at the heart of everybody’s daily life, and that rail and water transportation are almost non-functional while air transportation is for a privileged few, because of this, road transportation which is available to the masses poses a herculean task on FERMA that is struggling so much with so little trying to rehabilitate and maintain Federal roads.
He appreciated FERMA for the efforts it is making in the South East especially in Anambra State, saying the Agency’s intervention in the maintenance of federal roads in the State has yielded a good result which has eased the suffering of the people of the State.
Soludo further explained that the other reason for his visit was to ask for a productive and strategic partnership with the Agency to fix and maintain Federal roads in the State.
“The government of the State would want to partner with the Agency to the extent of providing funds when necessary.
“Even if it will require a refund to enable roads to be maintained as at when due.”
He also said that FERMA should consider the possibility of working on roads that are of priority to the government, and added it will help in easing the suffering of the people, and also help the Agency to deliver in time.
The Executive Director, West Operations and FERMA Board Member, Engr. Mujaidu S. Dako, in his comments, reiterated the Agency‘s readiness to partner with the government of Anambra State.
He said Governor Soludo is a reliable person who has the interest of the people in particular and Nigeria, adding that the Governor will deliver the dividends of good governance to his people.
