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The Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has commended President Bola Tinubu for what it described as a renewed commitment to road infrastructure development, saying the administration’s investment in the sector is driving unprecedented attention to the nation’s road network.
The agency also praised the Minister of Works, Senator Engr. David Nweze Umahi, and the Minister of State for Works, Bello Muhammad Goronyo, for their leadership and commitment to advancing the Federal Government’s road infrastructure agenda.
The commendation was made on Wednesday during a routine monitoring visit by the FERMA management team to ongoing road interventions in Delta State, led by the Special Assistant to the Managing Director of FERMA, Engr. Dr Emeka Maduagwu.
Maduagwu said the agency was focused on fulfilling its mandate of keeping federal roads safe and motorable, adding that the interventions across Delta were part of the Federal Government’s broader effort to improve connectivity and facilitate the movement of people and goods.
He commended President Tinubu for providing the political will and resources required to give road infrastructure renewed priority, saying the President had demonstrated a clear commitment to changing the narrative in the sector.
“What you see today is a clear demonstration of the will of Mr President, which he has shown through his investments in infrastructure and his commitment. We are not where we want to be, certainly, we are not where we used to be. The journey is on, the direction is clear and the destination is well within reach, and we are firmly on course,” Maduagwu said.
He also commended Umahi and Goronyo for their roles in driving the infrastructure agenda, while praising FERMA’s Managing Director, Engr. Dr Chukwuemeka Agbasi, for providing focused leadership and ensuring that the agency remains committed to its mandate.
According to him, the leadership of the Ministry of Works and FERMA has created the momentum required to translate the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda into tangible interventions on federal roads across the country.
The team first inspected the ongoing construction of the FERMA office along the Benin–Asaba Expressway, which is over 90 per cent complete.
The project, according to the agency, is part of efforts by FERMA and the Ministry of Works to ensure that government assets are fully utilised and derive maximum value, while providing a conducive working environment for improved productivity and effective operations.
The monitoring team later inspected rehabilitation works on the 38-kilometre Kwale–Ebedei–Umutu Road, a strategic corridor linking several communities, including Ebedei and Umukwata in Ukwuani Local Government Area, while also providing a link between Ukwuani and Ndokwa West Local Government Areas.
FERMA’s Federal Roads Maintenance Engineer in Delta State, Kingsley Oshewe, said the agency had undertaken direct-labour rehabilitation on sections of the road between km 21+000 and km 24+000, involving scarification, removal of failed pavement materials, filling with sharp sand and laterite, compaction, stone-base application, priming and asphalt surfacing.
He said several sections of the road had been recovered through the intervention.
The team also inspected the Okumeshi Bridge section at km 15 between Ebedei and Umukwata communities in Ukwuani LGA, where an embankment washout had threatened to cut off the carriageway.
FERMA intervened by constructing a reinforced concrete retaining wall, backfilling the affected section with laterite and protecting the embankment with stone pitching against further erosion.
Oshewe said the intervention had restored the road to service and protected a critical link between communities.
He urged residents and road users to support the government’s efforts by keeping drainage channels within their premises clear and avoiding activities that could obstruct water flow and cause flooding.
For residents, the intervention has brought relief.
A community resident, Chidimma Moses, recalled that the area was previously unsafe and difficult to access, expressing appreciation for the intervention.
The agency said the repairs were necessary not only to improve movement but also to protect access to communities and facilitate the transportation of agricultural produce.
Maduagwu reiterated that FERMA would continue to monitor its interventions nationwide, stressing that the agency’s responsibility was to ensure that critical road links remain open and safe.
He said the renewed infrastructure drive under the Tinubu administration, backed by the leadership of the Ministry of Works and FERMA, was already producing visible results.
“Make no mistake about it, we are not where we want to be, but certainly we are not where we used to be. The journey is on and the direction is clear,” he said.
