Good road network in Nigeria will reduce inflation, says Umahi

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has said the President Bola Tinubu-led administration remains committed to fixing Nigerian roads as part of measures to tackle rising inflation.

He said this while inaugurating the new board of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) in Abuja on Thursday.

Umahi said, “We have a very critical situation with our roads all over the country, and for me, the number one thing Nigerians need, like yesterday, is roads.

“Road is everything. If we fix our roads today, we will bring down inflation in this country because bad roads are affecting every aspect of our economic activities.”

He charged the newly inaugurated members of governing board to brace up to the challenges of road infrastructure maintenance facing the country and show unwavering commitment to the road maintenance programmes of the Renewed Hope administration of the President.

The minister expressed gratitude to the President for appointing men of proven integrity and ability to the FERMA Board and for approving the 2023 Supplementary Budget, which provides landmark interventions on federal roads.

He further identified road infrastructure as critical to the socio-economic development of Nigeria, noting that the critical sectors that drive economic growth rely greatly on road infrastructure development.

Umahi said, “Let me first congratulate the nominees of Mr. President to the FERMA board and express my deep gratitude to Mr. President, who has found you worthy to do this job.

“The enhanced budgetary provision for road infrastructure under our dear President shows his commitment to changing the narrative of our road infrastructure.

“This underscores the fact that Mr. President understands the plight of our people as far as our road infrastructure is concerned; he’s doing everything within the budget and outside the budget to fix our roads.

“And I want to assure Nigerians on behalf of Mr. President that our hopes are renewed in tackling our road infrastructure decay.”

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, Mahmuda Mamman Mamman, described the newly appointed members of the FERMA board as people of proven competence and experience and expressed hope that they would perform well in their new assignment.

Speaking on behalf of the newly constituted board, the Managing Director of FERMA, Engr. Dr. Chukwuemeka Chijioke Agbasi, expressed gratitude to the President for finding them worthy to be appointed as board members of FERMA and pledged to discharge their responsibilities with the fear of God and align to the policy of the Federal Minister of Works and also to the mandate of FERMA.

He expressed the commitment of FERMA towards making a visible difference on the road conditions and the travel experience of commuters in the country.

It would be recalled that in accordance with provisions of Section 3 of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) Amendment Act 2007, the President, on 13th October 2023, approved the appointment of the following members of the Governing Board of FERMA, who have since been screened and confirmed by the Senate.

Engr. Dr. Chukwuemeka Chijioke Agbasi – Managing Director

Engr. lbi Terna Manasseh – Member

Dr. Kenneth Ugbala – Member

Sen. Timothy Aduda – Member

Babatunde Daramola – Member

Hon. Preye Oseke Member

Aminu Adamu Papa – Member

Engr. Abubakar Bappa – Member

ACM Shehu Mohammed – Member

Yusuf Lawal Othman – Member.