By Ayodele Johnson

Although there are good ones that are very much in shape, the fact remains that several faulty federal roads can be found littered all over Nigeria and there is a huge price to pay if they are all to be fixed.

Based on the projection given by the Minister of Works David Umahi on Wednesday, 1 November while meeting with Representatives at the National Assembly, it would cost a sum of N18.6trn split over a four-year period before the country can experience near-perfect road infrastructure which will mean up to at least N4.5 trillion being spent yearly between now and 2027, and that is so much burden.

So where will the money for repairs and new construction come from?

Scarce resources at the moment make this a difficult question to answer but there might be a way out. The route to escape lies with the National Assembly making laws that would create a contingency fund. Mr Umahi said this while defending an N2.1trn supplementary budget that was submitted by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly on Tuesday.

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“On the whole, to address our road sector for the four years,” says the former Ebonyi State Governor, “we would be needing about N18.6 trillion and so the National Assembly must have to wear its thinking cap on how we can address seriously our road sector.

“I also appeal to the National Assembly that the Executive to respect your motions on certain interventions. We must have a contingency fund.”

To firmly establish his point before the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations chairman Abubakar Bichi, the minister’s analogous reference to a man who is stationed to be on life support made the demand to have a special financing intervention which will sort of enable him to do his job.

Since he got assigned to his portfolio in August, Mr Umahi has been thinking up ideas to improve his country’s road quality, so he proposed a better way to bring about longevity through concrete which is regarded for its long-lasting shelf life. The new method, when proposed in September raised concerns about the price of cement going way up.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.