We Will Fix Bad Roads Before Xmas...Babatunde Fashola

The federal government has expressed readiness to fix bad portions on various roads across the country. The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, spoke on the issue while fielding questions from State House Correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday.

Fashola said major highways were under consideration as the ministry held meetings with contractors, Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), and collaborative agencies to ensure that the roads got ready for the challenges posed at the end of the year.

The minister, who said the contractors would be charged to return to site even without funds, added that the issue would be discussed at stakeholders’ meeting because it involved both federal and States’ roads.

On the issues discussed at the FEC meeting, he said the council had approved the change of rates for Efon-Elaaye, Erimo-Iwaraja road linking Ekiti and Osun States. He said the road which was awarded in 2009 was expected to be completed next year with the review for N523.826 million.

The minister said the FEC also approved the award of three projects for Igbo Oloko – Agbole road in Oyo; Gulu-Yaba town road between the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Niger State; as well as Sharada/Madobi/Dambori road in Kano for N7.249 bn; N7.593 bn; and N4.510bn respectively. He said the council received an update on the status of work on the roads across the states, the contracts’ prices, the outstanding amount needed to be paid to contractors for certificates, the amount expected to be spent next year, the progress, challenges, and the way out. He said the report included an update on the performance of projects being funded under the infrastructure tax credit scheme approved as Order Seven by President Buhari and those funded by multilateral loans under the China EXIM Bank.