Budget: House Will Insist On Value For Money

By Oduyemi Odumade

The House of Representatives says it will not hesitate to impose sanction on any agency for misconduct.

This is as the Chairman of the Committee, Aderemi Oseni insisted that the days of making huge budgetary allocations to the Federal Road Maintenance Agency ( FERMA) without commensurate results were over.

Oseni, who stated this at a meeting with the management of the agency also said the parliament will insist on value for money.

The lawmaker noted that though FERMA was established to maintain federal roads, its image in the eyes of the public is one of ineffieceny and corruption.

However, he stated that the committee would ensure that the agency lives up to its responsibility.

“FERMA was established with a core mandate to maintain federal roads, and over the years, it has played a crucial role in infrastructure development in our nation. However, it saddens me to say that the state of our roads has reached a deplorable state, resulting in untold hardship for our fellow Nigerians, hampering economic growth, and tarnishing our nation’s image.

“The image of FERMA in the eyes of the public is one of inefficiency, corruption, and ineptitude. This is a reality we cannot ignore and thus a perception that must be changed, and it is our duty as representatives of the people to take decisive actions to address this issue and ensure that FERMA becomes a beacon of hope for Nigerians.

“Let me state unequivocally that the 10th National Assembly will not accept business as usual in FERMA. The days of huge budgetary allocations with little or no impact on road maintenance are over. We are here to ensure that every naira spent by FERMA delivers tangible results for the Nigerian people.

” As supervisory committee, it is our solemn duty to ensure that FERMA operates at the highest standard, achieves tangible results, and serves the Nigerian people effectively.

‘We will demand performance, value for money, accountability, transparency, and professionalism from FERMA, and this House Committee will not hesitate to utilize the full instruments of the law to sanction any misdeeds that come to our attention.”

Oseni promised that as part of the committee’s legislative agenda, it would deploy legislative instruments ” and adherence to the best global practices to revitalize, reposition, reengineer, and rebirth FERMA, ushering in a new era of improved road maintenance and efficiency for Nigerians.”

In his remarks, the Managing Director, of FERMA, Mr Chukwuemeka Agbasi said that the agency has a challenge of inadequate funding.

Agbasi told the committee that the agency had liabilities yet to be paid to contractors since 2015 to 2021.

He said that the agency is owing N19.13 million for 2015, N19.95 million for 2016, N15.78 million for 2017, N30.04 million for 2018, N11.42 million for 2019, N10.11 million for 2020 and N11.09 million for 2021.

Edited By Grace Namiji