• Urges FG to declare emergency on roads
Member of House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Bamisile, has lamented the deplorable state of federal roads in the South West region of the country, and called for their total overhaul.

The lawmaker, who represents Ekiti South 2 in the House, urged the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi to concentrate on reconstruction of existing roads and avoid constructing new ones, so that most of the roads could be fixed.

He urged the Federal Government to declare an emergency on the roads, saying virtually all roads across the country needed urgent attention to ameliorate the suffering of the people.

Bamisile, who spoke with newsmen in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, said palliative works done by Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) only kept the roads fairly motorable for about seven months.

He said: “Some of these roads were constructed over 50 years ago. The lifespan of a road even where they used the best of materials is 50 years. In a place like Nigeria, where we don’t use the best of materials, the life span could be 25 years.

“So, most of our roads in the South West region are completely dilapidated. Palliative works won’t do justice to them. The Aramoko axis in Ekiti has become impassable. If you come from Kogi State, as you are approaching Omuo Ekiti, you could spend nine hours for a journey of 45 minutes.

“These are terrible times for Nigerians. I want to encourage the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi to face the existing road and jettison construction of new roads. The ministry of works should take over these roads from FERMA because they only deal with repairs and these roads are beyond repair.”