Regular lamentations over the failing state of Nigerian roads across the country are unlikely to abate without a deliberate policy of government to address the issue of administering and funding roads. The necessity for this cannot be over-emphasised in a country of highly mobile people in pursuit of work or pleasure.

Nigeria’s federal highway network is the longest in Africa. The country received international recognition for achievements in road construction and was commended for being the only country to complete the sections of three Trans-African highways within its borders. In 2018, after 40 years of unconcluded attempts to set up an agency for financing and administering federal roads, the National Assembly passed the Federal Highway Authority Bill which the President did not sign into law. Disappointingly, the Legislature did not proceed to pass it into law by a two-thirds majority vote as it is empowered to do by the Constitution. It is high time to establish this agency which will fund and administer federal roads and give support to states’ road programmes based on stipulated criteria. 

Historically, roads were constructed and maintained by the Public Works Department which was a behemoth for water, electricity, government buildings, lands and surveys. Over the years, a separate agency was established for each service. The Federal Highways Decree of 1971 placed the planning, construction, maintenance and management of federal highways “under the Minister charged with responsibility for roads.” This included the management of traffic until the Federal Road Safety Commission was established by Decree in 1988. 

The road accounts for more than 90 per cent of the movement of people, goods and services in the country. Although other transport modes cannot be used without it, the road is the only one without its own semi-autonomous agency. In 1898, rail transport commenced from Lagos to Abeokuta and a 1955 Act established the Nigerian Railways Corporation. In 1954, the Nigerian Ports Authority Act was promulgated. In 1984, the Nigerian Maritime Authority (now Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency) was formed by Decree. In 1978, a Decree established the Federal Airports Authority which later split into separate legal agencies for Civil Aviation, Aerospace Management and Aviation Cargo Handling. The Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority was also established. This has enabled these other transport modes to generate and collect revenue.

Many countries have separate agencies for roads. In 1956, the United States of America set up the Federal Highways Administration for its 78465 kilometres of federal interstate highways linking 48 contiguous states. The South Korea Highway Corporation was founded in 1969 for its 14500 Kilometres of expressways. In 1974, Ghana Highways Authority was established by Decree, for the federal road network of 15000 kilometres. South Africa set up the National Roads Agency in 1975 for its 12973 kilometres of national roads.    

The effort to have an agency for roads started in 1971 when the Federal Military Government mandated a three-man delegation to study the funding and administration of roads in Italy, Western Germany, Sweden, Brazil and the United States of America. The trio of S.O. Wey, M. T. Usman and John Oyegun submitted a report on April 12, 1972 in which they recommended the establishment of the Federal Highways Authority “without delay.” The Federal Executive Council did not ratify the recommendation because it stated that the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing could adequately cope with funding and management of the federal road network of 11000 kilometres at the time.

That reason became invalid after the Federal Government took over 17000 kilometres of roads (from the 12 states at the time) in the Third National Development Plan (1975-1980). The ambitious programme involved developing the acquired state roads to national standards and 3500 kilometres of new construction with 12 bridges. By 1980, many of the roads could not be completed because of insufficient funds. In 1978, only two of the three designed lanes for each direction of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway were completed, even with the facility from the World Bank. 

The attempt to establish the Federal Highways Authority was resuscitated in 1982 with a private members Bill by Hon Charles Adigwe of Awka Federal Constituency but the bill was at Public hearings stage when the government was changed in January 1984. In 1997, the Federal Government constituted the “Road Vision 2000 Committee to midwife a Road Fund and Federal Highways Authority.” The effort produced a Draft Decree in 1998 but the Transitional Military Government decided to pass it on to the succeeding civilian administration. In the year 2000, the Federal Government excised the Maintenance Department from the Organisation Chart of the proposed Federal Highways Authority and established the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency. This did not address the issue of funding.  

In the year 2008, the Ministry of Transportation convened a Workshop on “Road Reform: the Way Forward,” which recommended establishing a National Road Fund and the Federal Highways Authority, as well as corresponding agencies in the 36 states, the federal Capital Territory and the 774 local government areas. An Executive bill was sent to the National Assembly in 2009. In 2013, the Federal Government announced the decision to establish the road agency, in order to eliminate the duplication of road administration by the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency and the Highways Division of the Ministry of Works. 

In all these years, the federal road network deteriorated while ad hoc measures were adopted to address the perennial shortage of funds for roads. We have utilised funding from Sukuk facility and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Agency. We have built segments of roads by granting tax concessions and we have explored many public-private partnerships. The experiences from concession of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Lekki Expressway have not engendered the confidence of the private sector which needs a stable political and economic environment. 

Every time the subsidy on petroleum products was reduced, the government was advised to apply some of the savings to establish a road fund. However, successive governments have adopted intervention programmes which lack the institutional structure for sustainability. In 1985, when the litre price of premium motor spirit (petrol) was raised from 19 kobo to 25 kobo, the Federal Military Government established the Department of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure, which constructed earth-surface roads which are now covered by bush nationwide. In 1993, the Petroleum Special Trust Fund was established to distribute some of the proceeds from removal of petroleum subsidy. In 2012, the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (Sure-P) was set up. With the end of fuel subsidy on May 31, 2023, and commencement of appropriate pricing of petroleum products, we are now at another fateful moment. Government is already going down the old path of doling out funds for palliatives. Would the proceeds be scattered again with no enduring institution to ensure tangible results in a few years? Will the idea of a National Road Fund still be ignored?

The Wey Delegation Report of 1972 listed a matrix on sources of funds for roads. It is a testimony to the quality of our human resources that many recommendations of that report are valid today. Consistently, development economists have advocated a Road Fund consisting of road user-contributions (including tolls). Although there had been tolling in private roads and ferry crossings, tolling was first introduced on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in 1978. However, in 2008, the Federal Government dismantled tolls nationwide in anticipation of funds from a proposed fuel surcharge that was not approved by the National Assembly. This has deprived roads millions of Naira every hour, from the token amount paid by each vehicle at every crossing. Funds from these sources would provide a steady flow to attract long-term funding for roads. This will completely relieve the government from the sole burden of financing roads.

Nigeria’s federal highway network of 40,000 kilometres (including the new Asaba-Onitsha Second Niger Bridge) cannot be administered and funded efficiently within a bureaucratic structure. This is also true for the 30,000 kilometres of states’ roads and the ever-expanding local government roads and streets totalling 85,000 kilometres based on 1997 statistics. 

Lack of executive will is responsible for the failure to set up this important agency for roads. As a true leader is a visionary and moulder of consensus, President Tinubu must make this matter a legacy policy. When the Federal Highways Authority Bill was passed in 2018, the present Secretary to the Government of the Federation was a leading Senator while the Chief of Staff was the House Speaker. There are others like them who can brief the President on how this agency can be established in the shortest possible time.

The recommendation in the Wey/Usman/Oyegun Report that the Federal Highways Authority be established “without delay” needs to be addressed. This must be done to prevent the total collapse of a critical national asset and ensure sustained funding for federal roads.