By Daniel Tyokua
The Managing Directo Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Nuruddeen Rafindadi, has pledged has promised to assist Nigerian Correctional Service to fix the road network in its centres.
Rafindadi, who described the Correctional service as a strategic partner, made the promise during a courtesy call by a delegation from the Nigerian Correctional Service led by ACG, Attah M.I. on behalf the Controller General, Haliru Nababa.
In a statement issued by the agency ‘s Director Information Maryam Sanusi, said the road leading to the Correctional Service Academy of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Ogun State where senior officers are being trained is in a deplorable condition, and needs quick intervention.
Attah appealed to FERMA to make the road network more accessible for the staff as the road is in a total state of disrepair.
He also urged the Agency to help install streetlights in the Custodian centers where inmates are kept.
Attah highlighted the functions of the Nigerian Correctional Service to include, safe custody of offenders, reforming the offenders positively, rehabilitating and engaging the inmates in skill acquisition, educational acquisition, and re-integration among others.
Responding, the FERMA’s MD said the road sector is an essential infrastructure/asset of the economy of the country and an important sector that concerns everybody.
He said “FERMA, which sole mandate is to monitor and maintain all Federal roads across the nation has the capacity and expertise to deliver in it mandate. With fifty offices across the country, 38 field offices, and 12 Zonal offices, he said, the Agency is tirelessly working to ensure all federal roads are in a good and safe condition for road users all year round.
Rafindadi said Nigeria has about 200,000km of national roads across the nation of which 36,000km are Federal roads. This sector according to him is a key infrastructure to Nigerians as the road transport sector is one of the most commonly used means of transportation in the country.
He, however, stated that the Agency sometimes fixes roads that are not in her jurisdiction such as State roads and strategic roads because of their economic importance, this is done as part of FERMA’s corporate social responsibility, he added.
The statement said that the budget of the Agency which used to be poor before the present management came on board has risen tremendously in the past three years, from 25 billion to about a 100 billion annual budget.
“In the last three years, we have had almost a 100 percent performance, as all contract jobs awarded were executed accordingly”.
