The Joint Committee of the National Assembly on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency has praised the agency for its swift and quality road maintenance across the country.

The commendation was given on Wednesday in Abuja during the agency’s defence of its 2025 budget implementation and presentation of its 2026 budget proposal before the joint committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on FERMA, Sahabi Ya’u,highlighted the strategic importance of road infrastructure to Nigeria’s economic development.

Mr Ya’u stated that road networks remained the primary arteries of national growth, adding that sustainable infrastructure was therefore critical to achieving a one-trillion-dollar economy.

He said, “Roads are the bridge between rural agricultural productivity and urban markets. Once they fail, food inflation rises, and our misery index deepens. Strategic road maintenance is a social investment in security, employment and economic stability.”

The chairman of the House Committee on FERMA, Aremi Oseni, commended the agency for the level of work and the standards observed during oversight visits.

Mr Ya’u assured the agency of continued collaboration to improve funding and enhance performance in the maintenance of federal roads nationwide.

Presenting the proposal, deputy works minister Bello Goronyo revealed that the proposed 2026 budget stood at ₦229.99 billion.

Mr Goronyo explained that ₦191.47 billion was earmarked for capital expenditure, including the rollover of 70 per cent of ongoing 2025 capital projects into 2026.

“A total of 336 projects have been rolled over, comprising 291 road projects and 75 non-road projects, including streetlights and related infrastructure,” Mr Goronyo explained. “Also,70 per cent funding for these projects, amounting to ₦91.47 billion, has been rolled into the 2026 fiscal plan. The distribution of the projects cut across all states of the federation to ensure equitable infrastructure development.”

Mr Goronyo further disclosed that personnel costs in the 2026 proposal stood at ₦5.06 billion, while overhead expenditure is projected at ₦33.47 billion. He affirmed  that FERMA possessed the technical capacity to execute its mandate but identified inadequate funding as the agency’s primary constraint.

He also stressed the need to harmonise the budget cycle with the procurement processes to enable contractors fully utilise the dry season for timely project delivery.

He appealed to the lawmakers for sustained legislative support to strengthen the agency’s operational capacity.
Goronyo referenced the repeal of the five per cent user charge on petrol and diesel under the 2017 FERMA Amendment Act and its replacement with a  five per cent fossil fuel surcharge under Section 159 of the new Tax Act.

He expressed optimism that FERMA would be included in the revenue distribution template under the implementation of the 2025 National Tax Act.

(NAN)