Maintenance: SERVICOM recommends reconstruction of dilapidated roads before handover to FERMA
The Service Compact with all Nigerians (SERVICOM) has advocated the reconstruction of major roads across the country before handing such over to the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) for continuous maintenance.
The National Coordinator, SERVICOM, Mrs Nnenna Akajemeli, made the recommendation on Wednesday in Abuja, when she presented SERVICOM Compliance Evaluation Reports (SCER), of FERMA to its Managing Director, Mr Nurudeen Rafindadi.
The SERVICOM evaluation report is a routine exercise carried out by the institution as one of its mandates to examine service delivery in Ministries Departments and Agencies (MADs).
According to Akajemeli, the essence of (SCER) is to ensure citizen-focused service delivery in all the MDAs.
She said that its specific objective includes identifying gaps in service delivery and making recommendations to MDAs to improve customer satisfaction and accountability.
She said that some of the roads visited by the SERVICOM team were in a stage of disrepair.
Akajemeli stressed the need for the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing through Highway Rehabilitation and Construction Department, to reconstruct roads that are dilapidated and hand them over to FERMA for maintenance work.
“From interaction with some road users, it was gathered that most Federal roads across the country have become unconducive for vehicular movement, thereby resulting in accidents/crashes.
“These roads are in need of reconstruction by the ministry of works and housing before they could be properly maintained by FERMA,’’ she said.
She listed some of the roads to include, Mokwa/Kwara border road, Bida/Lambata Road, Enugu/Okigwe Road, Ihiala/Orlu Road, Enugu/Port Harcourt expressway, among others.
Akajemeli also advocated the need for the Federal Government to provide adequate funds for FERMA by devising alternative means of funding to complement budgetary allocation.
She commended FERMA for its maintenance works on some of the major roads, in spite of the financial challenges faced by the agency.
She also tasked FERMA over the timeliness of its works as some road users had complained of blocking of expressways at busy periods and thus causing traffic obstruction for them.
Responding, FERMA`s Managing Director appreciated SERVICOM`s management team, describing its reprts as a laudable one, which would guide FERMA to work on areas of its weaknesses.
Rafindadi assured SERVICOM that identified gaps or areas of concerns would be adequately addressed by the agency for better and more efficient service delivery to road users.
