The immediate past senator representing the southern senatorial district of Cross River State in southern Nigeria, Senator Gershom Bassey has urged Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR to assent to the Federal Road Authority Bill, FRA, for sustainable road infrastructure development and maintenance.
He made the call during his remarks at the valedictory session of the 9th assembly in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
Senator Bassey, who served two tenures in the red chamber, appealed to President Tinubu to assent to the bill, which he noted would provide a more sustainable solution to the country’s deplorable condition of federal roads.
In a telephone interview with Voice of Nigeria, Senator Bassey explained, “There are two main issues bothering on road infrastructure in the country. While in the senate I introduced landmark bills such as the Federal Road Authority Bill and sponsored the amendment of the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency Act 2004 (Amendment) Bill.”
According to him, the legislation currently on the table of the President is the Federal Road Authority bill. The bill is a different ball game as it is a more comprehensive solution to the road development and maintenance issues in Nigeria.
“It says that the 36 thousand kilometres of federal road in Nigeria should be owned by an authority just as we have the Nigerian Ports Authority. We should have the Federal Roads Authority, FRA, which would own all Federal Government road infrastructures. It will no longer be in the Ministry of Works; it would now be in a quasi-autonomous government organization like the FRA,” he stated.
Global Practice
The former lawmaker explained that the solution was the practice in climes like Ghana and India as well as enabling private sector participation through concession.
“This solution is not a novel one; it is working in other countries. What it does is that it creates an environment where the private sector can easily interface with the public sector. As it stands, the private sector is reluctant to accept concessioning of roads from a ministry. But, they will be happy doing that with a standalone authority that can sue and be sued.
“This is the comprehensive solution to the road problems in Nigeria, which is what has happened in Ghana, India and other jurisdictions; and that is the bill on the President’s table for assent. We are saying let the President sign that one and we will see the transformation in the sector,” he emphasized.
On the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency Act 2004 (Amendment) Bill, Senator Bassey argued that it would enable the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA, receive 5 percent of pump price of diesel and petrol for road maintenance rather than rely on annual budgetary allocation.
The lawmaker said, “This pump price would generate far more money for FERMA to instantly react to road repair. But, what we are saying is that we should move forward. If we have the Federal Road Authority, it is a more sustainable solution to road infrastructure.”
He reasoned that with the challenges associated with airfares, the road infrastructure was the alternative for many Nigerians, adding “If we can improve that then we can begin to bring all types of transportation in sync.”
PIAK
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