The federal government of Nigeria has set aside US $10m for the rehabilitation of 123 roads across the 36 states of the federation. The initiative is under the government’s post-rainy season programme designed to ease travel difficulties during the Christmas and New Year festivities.
Details of the 123 roads are contained in a document prepared by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, which forms the action plan to fix failed portions of federal highways and major arterial roads in view of the impending Yuletide.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has also embarked on a road safety audit, which established the portions of federal roads that are to be fixed as Christmas and New Year festivities approach. This is coming as the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) has raised the alarm over the bad state of roads across the country. It has also been planned that the failed portions of roads with subsisting contractors will be fixed by such contractors, while Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) handles those which currently have no ongoing contracts.
Also Read:Nigeria’s Imo state awards US $110m contracts for road rehabilitation
Roads to be rehabilitated
On a geopolitical basis, a breakdown of the 123 roads billed for rehabilitation or already undergoing repairs by the FERMA and contractors are North-west (11), North-east (15), North-central (16), South-east (14), South-south (16) and South-west (51).
Some of the roads earmarked for rehabilitation in the North-central zone are the Makurdi-Alaide road; Okene-Ajaokuta-Itobe road (Geregu Power Plant and Interchange to Itobe bridge) and Lokoja Shintaku-Dekina-Ayingba road (Lokoja-Geregu-Ganaja route 45). In the North-east, some of the roads include, Numan-Jalingo, Yola-Hong-Mubi, Damaturu-Maiduguri, Gombe-Biu, Bauchi-Gombe State border, Jalingo-Wukari, Wukari-Benue, Damaturu-Dapchi-Bayamari and Potiskum-Ngalda-Gombe, among others.
The roads to be repaired in South-east are: Onitsha-Owerri dual carriageway (Onitsha, Mgbido and Owerri bound), Enugu-Owerri road; 9th Mile-Orokam Road- 9th Mile interchange-Orokam Benue State boundary. Billed for repairs in the South-west are Ibadan-Ogbomosho, Ogbomosho- Ilorin, Oyo-Ogbomosho old road, Oyo-Ogbomosho old road, Ibadan-Gbogan road, Shagamu-Mowe-Lagos road and Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, among others.
