As Nigerians make travel plans to join their families and friends for the Christmas and New Year celebrations, there are fears of journey delays and heightened insecurity challenges as a result of bad roads across the country.
It would be recalled that in September, the Federal Government issued an N100 billion Sukuk bond which has a tenor of seven years tied to 25 key economic road projects earmarked for repairs.
But there are fears that the non-release of the said funds to the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing as at the time of filing this report may cause hardship among the travellers as a result of delays in commencement of palliative work on the affected roads network.
Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, who last week appeared before the Senate Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) revealed that the N100 billion sourced through the Sukuk Bond was yet to be released to his Ministry to carry out 25 major road constructions in the six geopolitical zones of the country.
He attributed the delay in the release of the Sukuk proceeds to ‘conditions’ attached to it.
“Funds generated from Sukuk have not been released because of the conditions tied to it. We will try and repair the roads before people start travelling for the festivities in December. We are doing something about that,” he told the committee.
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He also admitted that the worst roads in the country were located in South-South and South-East geopolitical zones, pointing out that some of the major federal roads in the 11 states were constructed before the 1967-1970 Nigerian Civil War.
The Minister also disclosed that out of N25billion budgeted for the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) in the 2017 budget, only N800 million has so far been released by the Ministry of Finance to the agency, representing 3.2 per cent.
Some of the key projects marked down for delivery from the Sukuk bond by December 2017 in the South-East zone which records high passenger traffic during the Christmas and New Year period are the rehabilitation of the outstanding Onitsha-Enugu expressway extending to Amansea border community at the cost of N5.16billion.
Rehabilitation of the N3.75 billion Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriage Section II, the Umuahia Tower, gate township rail/road and bridge crossing in Abia State, same for the rehabilitation of the Enugu-Lokpanta road.
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On the South West, part of the Sukuk bond is to be used in the reconstruction and asphalt overlay of Benin-Ofosu-Ore-Ajebandele-Shagamu dual carriage Phase IV at the cost of N6 billion and reconstruction of the outstanding sections of Benin-Ofusu-Ore-Ajebandele-Shagamu expressway Phase III valued at N5billion.
Also slated for completion in December with part of the bond is the dualization of Ibadan-Ilorin road, Route 2, Section II of the Oyo-Ogbomosho road in Oyo State at the cost of N5.6billion.
In the South-south region, the Federal Government is to dualise between Lokoja Obajana junction of Okene in Kogi State and Benin, Auchi area in Edo State at the cost of N3billion, including the estimated N3.5billion Phase 1 Okene-Ehor Benin City sections.
Among the projects that have December 2017 completion deadline that may not be delivered are the Oju/Loko-Oweto bridge over River Benue to link Loko in Nassarawa State and Oweto in Benue State along with Route F238 in the North Central at the cost of N4.14 billion.
Also are the dualisation of Kano to Maiduguri Road linking Kano-Jigawa-Bauchi-Yobe and Borno states section III (Azare to Potiskum at the cost of N3billion including Section IV consisting of Potiskum-Damaturu road in Yobe State at the value of N4 billion.
MIKE OCHONMA AND OWODE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
