The Minister of State for Works, Mohammad Goronyo, has raised concerns about the inadequate budgetary allocation to the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), emphasizing the critical role it plays in maintaining and repairing the nation’s roads. He stressed that the agency is facing significant financial constraints in meeting its responsibilities to maintain the federal road network across Nigeria, which is essential to economic growth and development. According to Goronyo, maintaining and repairing the country's vast network of roads requires a yearly budget allocation of over ₦700 billion to ensure proper upkeep and repairs.
During a budget defense session with the joint Senate and House Committees on FERMA, the minister highlighted that the agency needs substantial funding to perform its duties efficiently. He noted that FERMA is responsible for a large portion of Nigeria’s road infrastructure and underscored the agency's pressing need for increased financial support. Despite the considerable challenges posed by limited funding, Goronyo emphasized the importance of maintaining road infrastructure to promote sustainable development and economic recovery.
A statement issued by FERMA’s Director of Information and Public Relations, Maryam Sanusi, revealed that the agency submitted a budget proposal of ₦64.88 billion for the 2025 fiscal year. This budget request includes ₦4.9 billion for personnel costs, ₦33.47 billion for overhead expenses, and ₦26.49 billion for capital projects. This proposed budget, however, falls short of the ₦77 billion that was requested for 2024. The 2025 budget will focus on priority road repairs, specifically major trunk A roads across the country’s six geopolitical zones. This allocation is in line with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for national development and economic recovery.
In his remarks, Goronyo also discussed the allocation of ₦96.7 billion in the 2024 budget for FERMA, which was later increased to ₦103.3 billion by the president. However, only ₦41.28 billion of this total was released by the Accountant-General’s office, with ₦40.29 billion already expended as of the report. Despite this shortfall in funding, Goronyo affirmed FERMA's commitment to transparency, accountability, and community engagement in its road maintenance planning.
Goronyo further emphasized that maintaining the vast and deteriorating network of federal roads in Nigeria requires continuous investment and reiterated the need for an annual budget of over ₦700 billion to achieve effective and sustainable road maintenance practices. He called upon the joint Senate and House Committees to support FERMA in securing the necessary funds to continue vital roadwork and help foster smoother transportation of people, goods, and services across the country.
“I appeal to this esteemed committee to support the agency in ensuring the sustainability of road infrastructure maintenance,” Goronyo said. “Increased financial support will allow us to scale up preventive maintenance and promote sustainable road practices.” The minister also revealed that FERMA is working on revising key policies and exploring alternative sources of funding to generate additional resources for proactive road maintenance.
Expressing his gratitude to the legislative committees for their support, Goronyo emphasized that maintaining federal roads is crucial to the success of the Renewed Hope Agenda and the nation’s broader economic objectives.
During his opening remarks, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on FERMA, Hussaini Babangida, criticized the prevailing practice of prioritizing new road construction projects over the maintenance of existing road infrastructure. He expressed his concerns about the inadequate budgetary allocation to FERMA and the challenges it faces in fulfilling its responsibilities.
“It is concerning that the budget allocation to FERMA is insufficient to address the pressing need for road maintenance,” Babangida said. “If we agree that roads are enablers of growth and development, then stakeholders must collaborate to find lasting solutions to the issue of poor funding.”
Babangida also called for a more balanced approach to road construction and maintenance, stressing the importance of ensuring that the maintenance of existing road infrastructure is not neglected while supporting new road projects. His comments underscored the need for more strategic and comprehensive planning to ensure that Nigeria's road network is properly maintained and developed.
