Federal Ministry of Works

Federal Ministry of Works (FMW)

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Minister Federal Ministry Of Works Engr. David Umahi.

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Road Construction Inspection Tour.

Aug

2025

LATEST PRESS

IMMEDIATE WORKS ON EMERGENCY PROJECTS UNDERWAY AS PRESIDENT TINUBU DIRECTS ACTION ON REHABILITATION OF HIGHWAYS/BRIDGES ON THE VERGE OF IMMINENT DETERIORATION.
- 3RD MAINLAND BRIDGE CLOSED AGAINST HEAVY DUTY VEHICLES FOR STRUCTURAL MAINTENANCE.

In the efforts of the Renewed Hope administration of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to expand and modernize road infrastructure to enhance sustainable economic growth, action is being taken to ensure immediate intervention on some of the inherited ongoing highways and bridge projects across the 6 Geo-Political Zones that are on the verge of imminent deterioration. The Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency, Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi, CON made this disclosure during a press briefing held at the Honourable Minister’s conference hall, Mabushi - Abuja, on 6th August 2025.

Flanked by the Honourable Minister of State for Works, Rt. Hon. Bello Muhammad Goronyo, Esq and the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Works, Engr. Olufunsho Olusesan Adebiyi, the Honourable Minister gave a detailed insight into the conditions of the road and bridge projects being handled on emergency basis, noting that the President had directed immediate action to address critical sections of the Highways and Bridge projects that require emergency intervention and this neccessited the decision of the Federal Ministry of Works to articulate the conditions of such bridges and roads that are in dire need of repairs, some of which are currently being procured while work is in progress in some others. In the South West, he listed 3rd Mainland bridge, Carter bridge, Iddo bridge, Lagos-Ibadan bridges, Lagos – Badagry road, Ibadan – Ilesa, Ilesa – Akure-Benin, Ibadan – Oyo, Oyo – Ogbomoso –Ilorin roads as projects that needed emergency intervention. He said, “Among other emergency jobs that you’ve been seeing in Lagos, we are having a very deep conversation on the Third Mainland Bridge and Carter Bridge. And it's a very deep and concerned conversation. And we have tabled it to the Federal Executive Council and the Chairman in Council, Mr. President, directed that the Ministry should articulate the exact situation and bring it to the Federal Executive Council for deliberation. So we won't be able to say much on that until we have done that exercise as directed by the Federal Executive Council, and we'll let you know. But be assured that the Third Mainland Bridge is safe for light vehicles, but not for heavy vehicles. We have closed it against heavy vehicles, and the Carter Bridge also has issues that Mr. President is going to address as soon as our memo is completed. We also have a problem with the heavy trucks that are loading beyond our headrooms in our flyovers. We have a couple of them between Lagos and Ibadan Bridges completed in the last administration. Some of them have been knocked down. The beams are knocked down, and the beams are the structural elements that carry the slab that are carrying the vehicular loads. And so where the beam is not there, it means that it's not safe. So, for some of such bridges, we have closed down against vehicular movements. And we are very concerned. The Iddo Odo bridge was burned down during the past administration. So we are on it. It’s an ongoing project through Julius Berger.”

In the North East, he said, “We have a couple of projects that have been sent to us by the NSA today. In Bauchi, we have repair works between chainage 25 and chainage 26. That's Azare. That is procured. We have about four washouts in that Azare. That is on the long stretch of Kano to Maiduguri, which has five sections. Section one is terminated from Dantata and Sawoe, 100.9 kilometres. And so it's been re-awarded to the Triacta. Funding will be a challenge, but work is ongoing. We have section five, which is at Maiduguri, handled by CCECC. Work is ongoing. We have been assisting them with SUKUK. And I'm sure that we're going to find a new source of funds. But the first section that has been washed out between Bauchi and Jigawa has already been procured. We called the Triacta, which is very close there. He's going to put multiple culverts and raise the road above the flood level, a minimum of one metre above the carriageway, and put some retaining walls so that we'll be safe there. Unfortunately, the rain has come, but I commend the President who has released some funds to tackle this. That's about four locations. In Gombe, we have Triacta that is working and has been there. And we also encouraged Triacta with some SUKUK funding and some budgetary provisions. And we're doing quite a lot of work between Gombe and Bauchi roads. So, work is ongoing. And we've almost finalised the fourth legacy project of Mr. President, which is 439 kilometres by six lanes. It was done before, designed on asphalt. But now the President directed that for durability and conformity with other legacy projects, we should do it on concrete. That project is taking off from Akwanga to Jos to Gombe. We're also doing the road from Gombe to Bauchi.”

In the North West, he said that actions were being taken to ensure that an intervention be made to the Kebbe bridge in Sokoto State and other major projects that needed emergency intervention including the NNPC projects within the zone. “In North West, we have the Kebbe Bridge in Sokoto State. So we've also directed that work should commence. So what we have told you are the emergency projects that you may be coming across in social media, and to clarify that Mr. President has directed immediate action in all the locations because the chain is as strong as the weakest link. If any section of this road or bridges gets cut, then the movement is impaired. So you won't be able to move from one point to the other.”

In North Central, he said, “We have the Keffi Bridge, the flyover that was knocked, and three people were killed by overboarding vehicle. We have settled with the families of the persons that were killed and that’s through the man that did the killings. We have visited there, and we've seen what the problem is to rectify it. Work is already ongoing. We procured CGC under emergency condition, since they are working at FCT so that they can start. It will involve the replacement of the beam that is knocked down. It will involve the chiseling out of the shoulder and part of the carriageway. It will involve replacement, and then to do integrity tests on the remaining beams that were damaged, and then the bridge will be restored. On Katsina-Ala road, we just got approval from Mr. President yesterday to re-scope the project, review the project, and have it completely executed. I was a very happy person because that's been giving us a lot of concern. And we'll try with the little resources to do palliative on that project.”

In the South East, he stated, “The most important route in South East is the Enugu - Onitsha road, and that was awarded by the past administration, 108 kilometres by 2, and it was awarded for N202 billion to MTN under Tax Credit. But at the time we came on board, they had exhausted only N50 billion, and so we had to descope the project. And so we took out 72 kilometres of the project and awarded it to SKCC for N150 billion. Work is ongoing there. And so what we have done is to direct on emergency basis for SKCC and MTN to move immediately to the sections of the roads that are very bad, and within the scope of their work, do palliative, so that no section of that road will be unmotorable from Enugu down to Onitsha.” He urged the people of South East to double their support for the re-election of President Tinubu, noting that he has demonstrated enough goodwill to Ndigbo through many infrastructural investments of Federal Government in South East.

In South South, he noted a number of roads that would be done through PPP and those for emergency intervention, including Benin – Asaba road. He said, “We have the 1st Niger Bridge to the summit junction. That is about 11.5 kilometres by two. We have China Harbour and the Atland on that project, 225 kilometres from Benin to Asaba, but not connecting the summit junction to the bridge. And so on that PPP, we gave it to African Plus, and so they're doing it on PPP. They have started work, but the other section, 11.5 by two, China Harbour, felt that it's small for them, so we have, on that emergency, given it to Atland. And the President has also released some money to start the project.” He noted that under the NNPCL projects, the North has 53% of that project, and the south has 47% of that project and which was not fairly distributed, because a place like South East has only 4%, and South West only 5%. But that notwithstanding, Mr. President decided to continue with the entire project.

He described the trending video decrying the collapse of shoulders of the Lagos – Calabar Coastal Highway as an orchestration of uninformed critics who darken counsel without knowledge. He placed on record that the section being referred to is still work in progress noting that the crack was not a structural failure but a normal occurrence that happened on a sand- filled section of the shoulder (not the carriageway) because of rains. He said. “Absolutely, it's not an issue at all. That section has not been completed. Section 1 is 47.47 kilometres by 6 lanes. And so you have the main carriageway, you have the shoulder. And so where you notice the crack is the sand-filled section of the shoulder, not carriageway, with stone base, where we are not presently working on. Because to work on the shoulder, we have to bury the cable ducts. We also have to put underground drainage. People even say there is no drainage there. That thing is not a structural failure at all. Whether it is a stone base you are using, or sand, or laterite, it is bound to happen. The moment water is pounding on it, it has to erode. But you can go from Ahmadu Bello, where we have completed, and you find out whether you find such a thing, because we have closed every aspect of the sand-filled or stone base filled areas.”

In their separate remarks, the Honourable Minister of State for Works and the Permanent Secretary charged the journalists to continue to uphold the tenets of journalism in their reportage, which are accuracy, objectivity and patriotism, noting that the Renewed Hope administration has made profound marks in its agenda of returning the country to the part of sustainable economic growth and prosperity.

Hon. Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji
Special Adviser (Media) to the Honourable Minister of Works

Jan

2023

FG Commences Phase II of The NNPC Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme … Intervention will ensure cash flow, steady projects completion - Fashola The Honourable Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola has stated that the Federal Executive Council has approved Phase II of the NNPC/ FIRS Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme. The Minister said that the introduction of the NNPC Tax Credit Scheme will ensure the sustainability of funding critical infrastructure in Nigeria Fashola stated this at a press briefing in Abuja where all the stakeholders, including NNPC, FIRS and contractors were in attendance. The Minister noted that contrary to inadequate funding of infrastructure experienced under the past governments, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, has identified alternative sources of funding that could guarantee sustainability from the beginning of the projects to its completion without hitches Accordingly, he explained that the tax credit scheme is a new model that encourages partnership with private companies where taxes are paid in advance to enable the government invest in notable projects that would be beneficial to its citizens like what is going on in the road sectors of the economy. The Minister also mentioned that the Federal Government which has focused on nine major axis of Nigeria, explained that the A1 – A4 axis of the country covers the Northern part of the country, while the A5 - A9 axis covers the East-West zone of the country. He explained that the successful completion of all the roads would lead to sustainable mobility for Nigerians. The roads like Akure – Ado –Ekiti and East-West which people have been complaining about would be adequately catered for with the approval of the second phase of the NNPC Tax Credit Scheme. On payment of compensation, Fashola noted that compensation would not be paid to anyone occupying the government’s right-of-way, saying that the federal government right of way was 5.75 meters on both sides and appealed to members of the communities occupying it to vacate. Earlier, in his introductory remarks, the Permanent Secretary, represented by the Director Overseeing the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Engineer Folunsho Esan, recalled that in line with the Executive Order 7 (2019) approved phase 1 of NNPC/FIRS Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme on the 27th of October 2021. He stated that with the completion of Phase 1, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has also approved phase II of the scheme to fund 44 critical road infrastructures to the tune of N1.96 trillion naira. Speaking further, Esan said that as it was done with phase I, phase II would be governed by a set of guidelines to be issued to each contractor, adding that there would be a funding intervention agreement to be implemented in addition to the standard condition of the contract governing the execution of the projects. He said: “The availability of this new funding window will ensure steady cash flow and a timely completion of projects.” He also stated that the NNPC intervention which began in October 2021 with phase I has now occupied the top of the log with a portfolio well in excess of N2.6 trillion. On the part of NNPC, the Group Managing Director who was represented by the Chief Financial Officer of the Corporation, Umar Aliya said that funding would not be an issue anymore as the Corporation is committed to fully funding phase II. He said: “We are committed to setting aside funds for phase II. Funding would not be a problem. What is important to us is that our consultant will need to validate the value for money and the quality of work. We will not compromise the quality and timely completion of work. “ The NNPC MD further assured of the availability of fund, saying that “there is no need for excuses. As for us on our part, we are committed and we implore the contractors to do quality work and do it on time so that the road projects can be open for use to Nigerians,” On his part, the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Services, Mohammed Nami, he commended NNPC for the intervention as well as the contractors for the quality of the job done in phase I of the scheme and assured that the NNPC has the capacity to fund the phase II of the scheme. He explained that most of the roads captured by Executive Order 7 to be executed by NNPC were mostly road projects inherited by the administration of Muhammadu Buhari and they are being fixed by the present administration through the taxes paid by Nigerians “So, we are appealing to Nigerians to trust Executive order 007 so that government will continue to provide the physical infrastructure that our people need. “he said. The representative of the indigenous contractors, Isa Muhammed Gerawa, who spoke in the Hausa language, commended the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari for giving equal opportunity to local contractors to execute such contracts. He described the Minister of Works and Housing , Babatunde Fashola as a hardworking and committed Nigerian under whom many dilapidated Nigerian roads have been fixed and a number of single carriageway now dualized. Gerawa also commended the present government for raising the budget of the Works Ministry from N18bn in 2015 to over N200bn, pointing out that it was a clear commitment of the administration’s desire to fix the nation’s road infrastructure for development. ...

Jan

2023

FG Hands over 2 Kilometre Road to University of Jos. The Federal Government has commissioned and handed over the two-kilometre road rehabilitated by the Federal Ministry of works and Housing to the Management of the University of Jos, Plateau State. At the commissioning ceremony, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola who was represented by the Federal Controller of Works in Plateau State, Engineer Usman Abubakar Majin stated that the gap of the infrastructure need was steadily been bridged by the gradual process of repairs, renewal and construction on major highways and schools. The Minister pointed out that the quality of education is connected with the quality of Infrastructure in an institution of learning. He said, "It is undebatable that quality of education will be impacted by the quality of infrastructure and the learning environment and those who doubt it should simply listen to some of the feedback from students in the schools where this type of intervention has taken place." Fashola further said," We have successfully intervened in 64 internal road projects in various Federal Tertiary Institutions and handed over a total of 46 as at March, 2022 and we now have another 18 ready to be handed over while we are currently attending to 19 roads in similar institutions across the Country making a total of 83." The Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Tanko Ishaya who was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor Administration, Professor Joshua Amopitan, expressed profound gratitude to the Federal Government for the road rehabilitation, adding that it has brought a lot of relief to the students and staff of the Institution. He said, "The road was in a terrible shape before it was reconstructed, it will not only benefit the students because it leads to the hostel but also our staff and parents who normally come to the institution." The VC added that the vehicular hiccups normally experienced in the University had been drastically reduced due to the current good condition of the road. He further said that the forthcoming 22nd and 23rd convocation of the University will be merrier as a result of the road. The occasion was witnessed by the Registrar, Dr Rejoice Songdem, Director Physical Facilities, Halima Auta, the University Librarian, Dr. Thomas Adigun and other staff of the institution. It was a joyful moment within and around the University community in Jos, Plateau state. ...

Jan

2023

Fashola Hands Over Intervention and Reinstatement of Gully Erosion and Connecting Road At UNIBEN ... Says Buhari Govt intensifies work in our national life Honourable Minister of Works and Housing Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN handed over an important asset, Intervention and Reinstatement of Gully Erosion and Connecting Road at the Ugbowo Campus, University of Benin [ UNIBEN) Edo State. At the commissioning he said " It is true that a lot of work needs to be done in many sectors of our national life, including education, the Buhari government has stepped up to lead the process of getting that work done" Before the completion of the project some staff and students residing close to the Ugbowo Campus of UNIBEN and residents in Iguo-Osaigie and other surrounding communities in Uhunmwonde Local Government Area of Edo were about to be cut off because of the ravaging gully erosion in the area. The Edo State Controller of Works who represented the Minister at the event Engr. (Dr) Aransiola Ademola said " the structural work and the water drainage were professionally displayed and the filling of sand is about 7 metres high " Vice Chancellor, UNIBEN Professor Lilian Salami in her remarks said " this gully erosion has taken its toll on critical areas of development of the University over the years, it is not in doubt. The good news is that we made our pleas and cries to government and the pleas have received the desired attention of government and we are today savoring the result of a government that listens and acts. She said " kudos must also go to our worthy Alumnus of the University, Minister of Works and Housing Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN for his commitments to the successful implementation of the project". Executive Officer, Edo State flood Erosion & Watershed Management Agency, Dr Tom Obaseki said “We are very happy to see that the reinstatement of gully Erosion and connecting road is completed today , we are always available to support the Federal Government in executing project" The Manager of the Construction Company, Levant Construction Ltd in charge of the project Engr Albert Abboud said ' we have delivered many projects and handed them over to the government, this road was washed because of erosion and it was not motorable before we completed the project" A 300-level student of Animal Science, UNIBEN Edogiawerie Jason said the road was no go area before the intervention work of Federal Government, he thanked the Ministry of Works and Housing for remembering the institution. A student from Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Courage Uchemefune who was at the event said " I used to work as a dispatch rider, the road was not really good, I appreciate Federal Government for working on the road and the gully erosion, UNIBEN needs more intervention of this type ". ...

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT

Jul

2024

OTHER NEWS

Mar

2020

FG’S Interventions In Tertiary Institutions Critical contribution To Education Sector – Fashola

* It was an excellent job done by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Says VC
* It is a welcome development that the roads are now motorable and enhancing easy movement of both staff and students-Lecturer
* Omah Mbah, Sociology Student, says, The roads are beautiful, motorable and neat. My friends and I have been taking pictures on the new road
* As Minister receives award for rehabilitation, reconstruction of 4 internal roads in BUK

The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, Tuesday in Kano handed over four rehabilitated/reconstructed internal roads in Bayero University Kano to the authorities of the institution describing Federal Government’s interventions as critical contributions to support Education in the country.

Fashola, who was represented at the event by the Federal Controller of Works Kano State, Engr. Idi Saje said, “The gap of our infrastructure needs is steadily being bridged by a gradual process of repairs, renewal and construction on major highways and it has reached the schools.”

The Minister, who was later given an Award by the University Community for the intervention, declared “To date , 18 (Eighteen ) out of the 43 ( Forty three) interventions have been completed and today we hand over this one in Bayero University Kano, Kano State as a critical contribution to support education.”

While presenting the Award to the Minister on behalf of the University Community, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Muhammad Yahuza Bello, expressed their joy, saying that the road intervention would make their lives around the school bearable, resulting in spending less on transportation, reduction in airborne diseases and stress of moving around. He added that it would also enhance regular attendance of classes, less discomfort on the roads while fatalities would be reduced completely.

The Vice Chancellor, who said it was a great pleasure to receive the roads on behalf of the University, added that the roads were properly constructed with drainages. He declared, “It was an excellent job done by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and we assure the Honourable Minister that the roads will be well used and maintained”.

Speaking earlier, the Director Physical Planning Unit of Bayero University Kano, Q.S Muhammad Gazzali, who represented the institution in supervising the project attested to the high quality of the roads, adding that they would stand the test of time.

The representative of the contractors that handled the projects, a staff of Views Tours Nigeria Ltd, Engr. Abideen Abdulazeez thanked the Honourable Minister for adequate funding of the project.

A Professor of Pharmacy in Bayero University Kano, Prof. Chedi Bashir, described the intervention as “a welcome development that the roads are now motorable and enhancing easy movement of both staff and students”.

A Sociology student from the Social Science Faculty of Bayero University, Omah Mbah expressed her joy over the rehabilitated roads. She said the roads are beautiful, motorable and neat. She added, “ My friends and I have been taking pictures on the new roads." She commended the Minister and the Federal Government for the wonderful road projects.

Speeches

Nov

2017

Keynote Speech By Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN At United Nations Sponsored FRSC Capacity Building For Implementation Of The United Nations Road Safety Legal Instruments

I welcome this opportunity to be your Keynote Speaker at the United Nations-sponsored Capacity Building Program for the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).

This opportunity provides me with a very important public platform to share my thoughts about the direction in which I think FRSC should be heading, and what we, the Government of Nigeria, should be doing to enable her towards that direction.

I will also use this opportunity to address some assumptions and explode some myths about road traffic accidents in Nigeria, and what we should be doing to reduce the incidents of road traffic accidents, and the attendant loss of life, limb and property.

The technical capacity which the facilitators from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Road Safety Secretariat will offer the FRSC is only one side of the capacity issues that FRSC needs.

The other side of FRSC’s needs is in the nature of equipment, tools, infrastructure and financial resources necessary to give them a visible and responsive presence on all Federal Highways in Nigeria.

Thankfully, the Corps Marshal, Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi, who is very passionate about his work, has responded to my request to him to submit an inventory of needs like bikes, patrol vehicles, and medical equipment that can help save lives. This is in the region of N16 billion in the first instance, and I have directed our Ministry to send this to the office of the Secretary to the Government, who supervises the FRSC on behalf of the Presidency, to whom FRSC reports.

I made a case for support for this funding to the Senate Committee on FERMA when I appeared before them recently, and not only are they well-disposed to the idea of appropriately resourcing FRSC, they expressly committed to taking action to sensitise their colleagues to the necessity.

This is as it should be, because if security and safety of lives and property is a most important duty, agencies like FRSC, who are our first responders at scenes of road accidents must be well-equipped to respond within the Medical Golden Hour, to ensure that accidents, when they inevitably occur, do not result in loss of life.

Not only must FRSC therefore have the necessary complement of vehicles and bikes to track down over-speeding drivers and bring them within control, they must have Mobile Intensive Care Units on wheels (not mere ambulances), with doctors, nurses, paramedics and other medical personnel at strategic points nationwide, to administer First Aid , and other life saving measures until victims are successfully moved to proper hospitals.

Really and truly, investing in at least one helicopter with medical evacuation capacity and well-trained staff for FRSC in each geo-political zone, if it is just to save one Nigerian life (which may be anybody), is consistent with one of the 3 (three) pillars of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) which is “To invest in our people”.

While there is a lot more that can be said about building the capacity of FRSC, I will leave the details to the FRSC. I think the most important point has been made: we must invest to save lives.

The other point, which lies at the heart of FRSC’s existence, the UN capacity building program, and everything that FRSC stands for, is Road Safety, Road Traffic Accidents, the causes, and what we must do more of to reduce the incidents.

First, let me speak to the conditions of our roads.
I will classify them into 3 (three) broad categories, namely:

A. Those that have outlived their design life;
B. Those that are within their design life; and
C. Those that are just being built.

For those that have outlived their design life, they should have been replaced and rebuilt, but they have not. Roads like the Calabar-Itu-Odukpani fall within this category.

They were built in the 1970s, and not only have they outlived their design life, they have had to deal with tonnage and capacities well beyond what their design intended.

Can such a road be truly expected to stay intact and deliver a pleasant motoring experience? Put differently, can anyone of us today wear the same clothes we wore as teenagers and expect it to fit and not rip apart?

Thankfully, these type of roads are now receiving attention under President Buhari, as the Calabar-Itu-Odukpani, Gombe-Biu, Ilorin-Jebba and other roads that fall within this category are being awarded for reconstruction, along with the third class of roads which are just being built (like Oyo-Ogbomosho Bye pass, Loko-Oweto Bridge, 2nd Niger Bridge, Kaduna Bye pass, Kano Bye pass), where contractors have returned to site, after demobilizing for non-payment for up to 3 years.

As for the second category of roads, which are within their design life, they have been victims of overloading, right of way abuse, and lack of maintenance as depreciation sets in.

Members of the public must know that roads are depreciating assets. They do not last forever, and require regular maintenance and, with time, replacement, if they are to serve their intended purpose.

These factors of abuse and lack of maintenance combine to reduce the quality of our motoring experience on the roads. With this background, I will now pose the questions: How bad are our roads?

Some have repeatedly said, “All the roads are bad.”

That is not true.

We have good parts, and bad parts caused by abuse and lack of maintenance.

Can you sleep in your office suit and shirts, refuse to wash and iron them, and really expect them to look good on you?

A recent survey that I directed should be conducted produced instructive and educating results about the degree and extent of bad portions of our roads.

Otta-Abeokuta road in Ogun State, with a length of 64km, has failures at:

A.    KM 20 + 775 to 23+275 (2,500 metres) at Sango-Otta flyover to Tipper Garage;
B.    KM 24+275 to 24+725 (550 metres) at Owode to Ifo;
C.    KM 44+113 to 53+147 (9,034 metres) at Papalanto to Itori

A total failure length of 12,084 m out of 64,000 metres, which is 18.75%

While 1 meter of failure is not acceptable, and we are mobilizing the contractor back to this road shortly after 4 years without a budget, the point is that 18.75% out of 64KM does not support the conclusion that “all” of the road is bad.

A similar survey on the Asaba-bound sections and Benin-bound sections which I asked to be carried out on the Benin-Asaba Dual Carriageway last week, also showed that the total aggregate of potholes and failures on the Asaba-bound section amounts to 3.02% of the total road length, while the total aggregate of potholes and failures on the Benin-bound section is 1.51%.

We are preparing remedial action to restore these sections.

The same is true of the Asaba-Illa-Ebu-Edo State border road, which is one of 44 roads across Nigeria and the 6 (six) geo-political zones where remedial work will start in a few weeks time once we conclude procurement.

These roads are the inherited legacy of road abuse and lack of maintenance, which President Buhari intends to change. This is why President Buhari has recently reconstituted the management of FERMA, the statutory agency responsible for maintenance of our roads.

They assumed office in the first week of October 2017, and from my interactions with the team, I am optimistic that Nigerians will experience change on their roads when they begin to implement their maintenance plan, which they constantly review with the Ministry.

Many of us, some of whom have not used the roads, readily describe our roads as a Death Trap. Really?

I undertook a tour of our roads earlier this year to see things for myself. We went by road and travelled in two coaster buses, driving for at least twelve hours everyday. We left at 8a.m daily and drove until 8p.m at the least. On one occasion, we drove for 18 hours, from 8a.m to 2a.m the following day.

We drove through different sections of roads that had outlived their design life, those that are within their design life with failures in some cases, and those that are currently under construction, where the drive was smooth.

We were not trapped, and we did not die. The only incident we had as we traversed 34 states (with Jigawa and Kebbi left to tour) was a tyre change on the Numan-Jalingo road. We drove at a maximum of 100km per hour. We had no accident.

How many people remember that there is a speed limit on our roads, in spite of FRSC’s efforts to introduce speed-limiting devices? How many people know or remember that there is a braking distance in driving?

FRSC will be 30 years next year, and they have acquired enormous experience and data that we must use if we are to reduce road traffic accidents and save lives.

Every month, my office receives a copy of the road traffic incidents Report across the country from FRSC, which I read, and direct that the Ministry respond to the findings and recommendations as they relate to road conditions, and causes of accidents.

Between June 2015 and August 2017, the report and data gathered by FRSC reveals indisputably that the biggest causes of Road Traffic Accidents on our roads are as follows.

A.    Speed violation - 26.63%
B.    Loss of Control - 23.04%
C.    Dangerous Driving – 9.37%
D.    Sign light violation – 9.57%
E.    Tyre Burst – 6.25%
F.    Wrongful overtaking – 5.92%
G.    Bad road – 0.55%

Of course there are other causes like Brake failure, sleeping on the steering, poor weather, overloading, which are not indexed above because they are not necessary to make the point that bad roads are not the primary cause of accidents.

Based on this data collated by FRSC, whose sector commanders in all 36 states and the FCT are our first responders at accident scenes, can anybody still make the argument that bad roads are the cause of Road Traffic Accidents? It seems not.

However, while I am willing to agree that bad roads may contribute, an unlicensed driver (and, presumably, an incompetent one); a driver with bad sight (without corrective glasses); an over-speeding driver; one who does not know the appropriate pressure to inflate his tyre; or who does not know that he should not overtake at a bend, does not help his own safety or that of the other road users.

Poor sight and these other factors must be addressed as we saw recently at the accident scene that occurred on Kara Bridge in Lagos, where there was no pothole and people still died in an accident.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I will now conclude by restating some of the things that we need to do, which are easy, in order to reduce incidents of Road Traffic Accidents and loss of lives.

As we prepare for the high volume of traffic that will characterize end of year movement for Christmas, FRSC has been mandated to undertake random checks for drivers without driver’s license, who must be taken off the roads to reduce the threat they constitute to themselves and other road users.

FRSC will also take steps to curtail over-speeding and reduce incidents caused by over-speeding. They will also, within the limit of their resources, ensure observance of traffic rules, restrict drivers to their lanes, reduce incidents of wrongful overtaking, and, hopefully, reduce accidents.

This undertaking of protecting lives and preventing loss of property is not that of FRSC alone. All of us, as road users, employers, have a role to play.

It will help us if those who own transport businesses play their part by ensuring that all their drivers undertake mandatory eye test and get corrective glasses to help their vision, improve their judgment, and reduce driver errors.

All my own drivers have been subjected to those tests and so have I. I do not need my glasses to read.

I need them to see better because I am short-sighted.

All those who drive over long distances must invest in their own safety and get enough rest before undertaking long journeys; and where necessary, fleet operators must recruit relief drivers.

Finally, in all that FRSC has to do, I have met with all the sector commanders and impressed upon them the ‘S’ in their name is the most important reason for their existence.

It stands for ‘Safety’.

They must remember that whatever they do must be in aid of safety and not contrary to it.

I wish you all a safe motoring experience and a Merry Christmas, as our Government continues to improve safety on our roads and give you a better motoring experience.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Honourable Minister of Power, Works and Housing