Tony Osauzo, Benin
In order to prevent flooding, the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) announced, on Wednesday, it had commenced the de-silting of drainages on some federal roads in Edo State.
The Agency said it carried out repairs on some bridges and failed portions of roads such as the Benin bye-pass, Muritala Mohammed Way and Ugonoba bridge, amongst others.
Managing Director of FERMA, Engr. Nurudeen Rafindadi, stated this in Benin-City, the state capital, while inspecting repair works carried out by FERMA, and explained that it was part of a 12 weeks programme of the agency.
He disclosed that inadequate funding of FERMA slowed down its activities but assured that any available funds would be used to fix critical roads across the country.
The FERMA boss expressed satisfaction with the repair work carried out on Ugonoba bridge along the Benin-Asaba highway.
“Sometimes last year, we got some funding and we quickly identified some very bad areas across the country. We used the fund to carry out repairs so that we can make a point.
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“That was what we did between January and March in our 12 weeks programme. This was done with repairs of bridges and township roads affected by bad drainages. I came to take a look at the contract for the special repairs of bridges along the Benin-Asaba express road.
“I am generally satisfied that we got value for money we spent. There are so many failed roads because of bad drainage system in Benin metropolis. Even though we have done a lot of work on the M.M Way there are still some sections that are bad.
“We will look at our purse and releases and then carry out expenditure. We will improve drainage on the roads and prevent ponding of the water”, Rafindadi promised.