The Nation Newspaper

Tag: FERMA

  • Anger over SURE-P, FERMA N1b rip-off

    Anger over SURE-P, FERMA N1b rip-off

    Thousands of job seekers across the country are alleging a massive rip-off by two agencies of the federal government which lured them into parting with over N30,000 each.

    The job applicants accused the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and SURE-P of making them part with the money on the promise of employing them in a Federal Task Force.

    Thirty thousand graduates are believed to have paid the money, bringing the total to N900,000.

    Investigation showed that none of the applicants has been deployed since their enlistment last December. They have not been paid either.

    Some of the affected people told The Nation that they were made to pay for uniform, enrolment forms, medicals and data capturing among others.

    They said the recruiters told them that they would be controlling traffic on federal roads across the 36 states.

    But instead of the promised traffic control job, the applicants, according to investigation by The Nation at some of the centres, are being used by the PDP as security and protocol personnel at its rallies and programmes across the country.

    Unable to cope with regular invitations to rallies and drilling sessions while not being paid salaries or allowances, some of the applicants have opted out.

    The situation has not stopped more people from applying, sources said.

    One applicant said: “I applied for the programme in January this year. Since then, I’ve paid N32, 500 for uniforms that I am yet to get. I also paid N2, 200 for the enrolment form. All I’ve got so far is a letter enlisting me as part of a FERMA/SURE-P empowerment programme.

    “My friend even paid N10, 2000 for what they called late form. But no employment letter has been given to me yet.”

    Some of them sighted at the Ojota office of the Task Force in Lagos said they are made to report there daily for drills and trainings.

    “None of us has been given any job. This is the ninth month. We have paid so much. We even paid for medical. This T-Shirt and fez cap, we bought them for N2, 500 each. We also paid for another form called traffic form. Some people have spent more than N50,000 but I’ve only spent about N40, 000,” another applicant said.

    Asked why they go round the country to be part of political rallies, another applicant said the recruiters said it is necessary to remind the President that they are still waiting for his approval for their postings.

    “They say we must go and parade at every rally where the president is present so as to remind him that we are still waiting for his approval. They say it is only when that approval comes that we will be posted to various federal roads across the country.

    “They even promised we will take over the control of all federal roads in Lagos from the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA). Sometimes we even control traffic along the expressway here at Ojota and at Shangisha area. We do this for free because we are not being paid yet,” he added.

    But promoters of the programme claim the federal government granted approval to the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) and Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to set up a task force to maintain traffic on the federal roads.

    They said upon a go ahead from the presidency, the organisation will deploy its men on federal roads in the state to maintain law and order because the Act setting up SURE-P/FERMA empowers it to carry out such civic responsibility on federal roads.

    “There is hope. It is only opposition politicians that are trying to discredit the programme. Officers are yet to be posted because the agencies are still working on the salary structure and scope for the programme. As soon as that is done, officers will be posted to different federal roads in the state.

    A graduate should get no less than N80, 000 as monthly salary when we are ready to roll out; but as the salary structure and scope are still being deliberated upon, one may have to exercise patience. For all potential SURE-P/ FERMA officers, patience is the word for now,” an official at the Lagos office told our correspondent.

    Speaking on the controversies surrounding the programme, Abdul Razak Rafiu Otto, a chieftain of the PDP who is also the National Coordinator of the Federal Task Force, said the programme is legal and in conformity with the laws of the land.

    “This programme has been in existence for the past three years now and it was set up by the Federal Government to further make the people feel its impact more. We are not out to deceive anybody. Whatever we are doing is legal and we are bound by the law of the country.

    “The question one should ask people making this insinuation is: did the President complain to you that we are doing illegal things here? Did the State Security Service, SSS, complain about our activities? This is a federal government programme for all states.

    “We are not just in this state we are  in all the 36 states of the federation, including Abuja. So, I don’t see why anybody will be talking about deceiving people here,” he said.

  • FERMA, please rehabilitate Ikole-Omuooke Road

    sIR:  I want to call the attention of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to the deplorable state of the federal road linking Ikole Ekiti with Omuooke Ekiti. As it is, the road has become a death trap.

    I believe the mandate of FERMA is to ensure that all federal roads are in good condition at all times. The agency should not pretend it does not know that the Ikole-Omuooke road is gradually scraping and wearing away.

    I want to use this medium to urge FERMA to rise to the challenge of putting the road in order so as to save the lives of the good citizens of this nation.

     

    • Adewumi Tope Humble

    Omuooke Ekiti,  Ekiti State.

  • Man dies at 117

    Man dies at 117

    Chief Johnson Anisulowo is dead. He was the paternal uncle of Chief Dipo Anisulowo, the chairman of the Ayo Fayose Transmission Committee.

    Pa Anisulowo died on Thursday in his sleep on Odo-Ode Street in Are-Ekiti. He was 117 years.

    The cocoa merchant is survived by 15 children, including Hallmark correspondent Mr. Toyin Anisulowo; Mrs. Mary Ige; Mrs Remi Fadipe-Anisulowo; an ex-board member of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Mr. Ayo Anisulowo and others.

    He is also survived by his extended family; Prof. Femi Elegbeleye; Olufemi Anisulowo; Chief Dipo Anisulowo; Dr. Aderemi Anisulowo and Senator Iyabo Anisulowo.

    He will be buried on December 11 in Are-Ekiti.

     

  • FERMA begins work on Kaduna bypass

    FERMA begins work on Kaduna bypass

    The Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has commenced the repair of a washed out session of the Eastern bypass near Sabon Tasha in Kaduna.

    The failed session of the bypass caused a building collapse and the death of an eight-year-old girl recently.

    The Managing Director, FERMA, Engr. Gabriel Amuchi, who led a team of officials to the scene, said the collapse of the three cell culvert occurred as a result of excessive rainfall which caused an extension of the culvert to cave in.

    He said FERMA was collaborating with Kaduna State government in order to reinstate the collapsed culvert.

    FERMA in a statement in Abuja said the collapsed culvert which threatens the carriage way will be completed within a month.

    The Director, Civil Engineering in the Federal Ministry of Works, Kaduna State, Engr. Muhammad Badamasi, said both the Kaduna State Governor and the Commissioner of Works have visited the scene of the incident.

    He assured that appropriate measures will be taken to address the problem.

  • FERMA ferment

    FERMA ferment

    •FERMA/SURE-P in Lagos would do well to fix federal roads instead of fulminating about state traffic law

    It is in order to say ‘here we go again’; we have seen this scenario played out over and over as national elections approach that we begin to wonder whether we ever make  progress in our national life. We refer to media reports that the Lagos State government and two Federal Government agencies are on a collision course over the control of portions of federal roads traversing the state. The agencies are the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) and their task force on highways.

    Many have wondered at the emergence recently, of uniformed militia-like men on some roads in Lagos said to be SURE-P/FERMA Federal Task Force. This is reminiscent of the situation in the run-up to the 2007 general elections when the then Minister of Works, Chief Adeseye Ogunlewe, introduced a similar task force which was locked in a turf fight with the state government. This time, the ‘force’ seems to spoil for ‘war’ as it seeks to repudiate Lagos State laws restricting the movement of commercial motorcycles.

    National Co-ordinator of the SURE-P/FERMA Task Force, Mr. Abdul Razak Otto, in a media statement noted that the task force currently at the toll gate end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway had come to stay. He also suggested that his men would not impede the movement of commercial motorcycle riders (also known as okada) as Lagos State transport agencies  do on some roads in the state.

    The state government passed a law in 2012 restricting the operation of okada riders. The law, which allows them to operate only on the inner streets was enacted to curb a ‘trade’ that had become a debilitating menace to the city of Lagos and her citizens. The riders were actually restricted from only 475 major roads out of over 9,100 roads in Lagos State. And the result of the action has been quite salutary as prior to the enactment of the law; there were an average of 16 okada accident deaths and over 646 injury patients monthly. However, this gruesome statistic has changed drastically since the law came into force.

    Though many of the riders did not like the restriction, no responsible government would allow such littering of okada all over the city with its attendant traffic chaos, deaths and destruction. Apart from the hideous impacts on lives and limbs, uncontrolled okada ‘business’ comes with a huge cost on the public health system apart from other incipient socio-economic costs of pulling our youths away from craftsmanship and artisanal trades. No serious government would allow such a deleterious state of affairs.

    We are therefore taken aback that two federal agencies seek to turn the hand of the clock not only by repudiating a subsisting state law but by also attempting to throw a metropolitan city the magnitude of Lagos into chaos and confusion in the guise of tending to federal roads. We thought that FERMA would busy itself with patching up federal roads which are often in derelict state and usually rescued by the state government. We also would expect SURE-P which is awash with cash now to invest more in mass transit and road infrastructure in major cities of the country in order to further eliminate the need for the highly injurious okada mode of transport. Civilised cities don’t commute by okada.

    With the 2015 general elections at the corner, we dare to conjecture that the Federal Government deigns to raise an election ‘army’ in the guise of highway task force. We think it is wicked if not criminal to play politics with, and to so doubly jeopardise the lives of our youths in this manner: first as okada riders and second as inconsequential highway ‘militiamen’.

    In the interest of all that is good, we hope the Federal Government would have a rethink and disband its youth ‘gang’ so that they may go pursue a worthier course of life. But more crucially, we pray that some numbskull, out of desperation, does not arm them. The consequences often last longer and are dire. Niger Delta and Boko Haram are still alive and well in our midst.

  • FERMA warns auto dealers in Lagos

    FERMA warns auto dealers in Lagos

    The Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) threatened yesterday that it would sanction auto dealers, who spill water on the Lagos/Abeokuta Expressway.

    FERMA’s engineer for Lagos West Kehinde Afolabi, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, said the activities of some auto dealers were damaging the road and causing logjam in the area.

    Afolabi, also acting chair Southwest 2, Federal Roads Committee on Surveillance and Action against Road Abuse, said the dealers had frustrated efforts to rehabilitate the road.

    “Do you notice they sell cars at ‘U’ Turn, Ile Zik? They sell cars there and we have warned them to reduce the spillage of water on the road. That has been the problem we are having.”

    We intend to serve them notice now to close that place.

    “Several times we would go there to amend the problem; we carried out palliative works last week.

    “FERMA has put boulders, stone base and we compact that place, but if they continue washing vehicles there, we will continue to have problem.’’

     

    “It is possible we could construct a drain but is the activity a normal activity? It’s not. You are not meant to wash cars on the road; if you want to wash car in your yard then, do your own line drain to link the Federal Government infrastructure. It’s not designed to receive water, water is not friendly with our road.“

    A salesman in Discount Autos, Mr Gboyega Salau,  told NAN that the pool of water in front of his shop was the outcome of an uncompleted drainage project.

    Salau said the auto shops were on the lowest gradient of the road and that due to lack of proper drainage each time it rained rainwater always flooded the area.

    He said FERMA had yet to serve them any form of notice to stop them from either channeling water to the road or to construct channels for proper disposal of the water.

    “They have not served us any notice, no paper has been served on us, no FERMA people have been here to talk about this issue. They did half of the road, half of it is left undone, half of the place that is left undone, the water would go beneath the wrapper and destroy it. That is what is happening, it is not our activities.

    “It is not from us but they stopped the drainage, stopped it at the front of the mosque there; that is where it was stopped. If they had completed it, we will not have the problem we are having,“ he said.

    A Manager at Tomsal Motors, Mr Ibrahim Busari, told NAN that it was impossible for the auto dealers to construct drainage channels due to the damage it would cause to the underground communication cables.

    “They planted some cables here, we wanted to construct the drainage, but we don’t know where these things were laid, it will affect them if we start constructing it. It is only government that has the diagram and they know where to pass the drainage.

    Also, the Managing Director of Kayode Motors, Mr Kayode Opeifa, said FERMA officials claimed that they did not have enough materials to rehabilitate the road.

    Opeifa urged the Federal Government to increase the budget for FERMA to carry out adequate rehabilitation of dilapidated roads.

     

  • FERMA intervenes on Akwa Ibom federal roads

    The Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has commenced work on Ekparakwa-Iwukem-Azumini road; Ikot Ekpene – Umuhia road and Aba-Ikot Ekpene- Itu road.

    The Board member representing South South Zone on FERMA, Otuekong Idongesit Nkanga, disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.

    Nkanga, who was an Ex-Military Administrator in Akwa Ibom State, explained that FERMA acted on Presidential Directive ordering it to unlock the state from the poor conditions of the roads surrounding it.

    According to him, the Federal Ministry of Works had been working on the roads but the contracts were re-awarded due to poor performance of the contractors handling the road projects.

    He said: “You may have noticed particularly those of you from this environment that for some time now Akwa Ibom State has basically literally been locked out because of the poor condition of the Federal Roads beyond the state.

    “The roads in the state are all nylon tarred but beyond the state we cannot say the same. But there is a Presidential Directive that FERMA must stepped in immediately to unlock the state from the poor conditions of the roads surrounding it.

    “With the Presidential Directive, I need to let you know that Federal

    Ministry of Works has actually been working on those roads, contracts were awarded but because of poor performance of the contractors those contracts have been terminated.

    “FERMA couldn’t have been working on those roads at the same time

    Federal Ministry of Works is working on the roads. We have three different contractors working on those roads now. Zerock Contruction Nigeria Limited is to handle Ekparakwa-Iwukem-Azumini road; Walltown

    Stone Nigeria Limited is to handle Ikot Ekpene – Umuhia road while Mothercat Nigeria Limited is to handle Aba-Ikot Ekpene- Itu road.

    “Within this August break and into the dry season those roads must be clearly motorable that is the matching order that have been given and some of the contracts have now been re-awarded within the last three weeks to a month and I am very sure that those roads will be motorable and Akwa Ibom state will be unlock as it were.”

    While calling on the Federal Government to improve her maintenance culture on the existing federal roads, Nkanga argued that if more money is given to FERMA to maintain the roads, the country would have saved more than constructing new roads.

    His words: “What we are doing is an intervention by FERMA. FERMA is not coming to put brand new roads but it is an intervention so that people can make use of the those roads until a decision will be taken on how it will be done for a more permanent solutions.

    “In other countries, more money is spent on maintenance of the existing roads. When you hear people asking for the opening of new roads it is because the existing roads have dilapidated to a point that they cannot make use of it again. If you pay attention to maintenance in this country, we will be better off.”

  • FERMA begins work on federal roads

    FERMA begins work on federal roads

    The Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has begun work on the Ekparakwa-Iwukem-Azumini Road, Ikot Ekpene –Umuhia Road and Aba-Ikot Ekpene-Itu Road, it was learnt yesterday.

    A board member representing FERMA, South-South Zone, Otuekong Idongesit Nkanga, spoke to reporters in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.

    Nkanga, a former military administrator of the state, said FERMA acted on a presidential directive ordering it to improve the condition of roads in the state and those linking it with neighbouring states.

    He said the Federal Ministry of Works was working on the roads but the contracts were re-awarded due to the contractors’ poor performance.

    Said Nkanga: “You may have noticed, particularly those of you from this area, that for some time now Akwa Ibom State has been locked out because of the poor condition of the federal roads.

    “The roads in the state are tarred, but those linking it with other states are not in good condition. There is a presidential directive that FERMA must repair the roads linking it with other states.

    “I need to let you know that the Federal

    Ministry of Works has been working on these roads. Contracts were awarded but because of the contractors’ poor performance, they were terminated.

    “FERMA couldn’t have been working on these roads at the same time the Federal Ministry of Works is working on them. We have three contractors working on the roads now.”

  • Motorists rue poor roads in Aba

    Motorists rue poor roads in Aba

    Motorists and pedestrians have lamented the poor state of federal and state roads in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State.

    They expressed the fear that if nothing urgent is done to fix failed roads in the city, road users might find it difficult to move around or go about their normal businesses when the rainy season sets in.

    Some of the residents who spoke to our correspondent said the condition of major roads connecting the commercial town with its neighbouring states of Akwa Ibom and Rivers states may cost the city its fame.

    They expressed the view that if nothing was urgently done by the federal and state to fix the dilapidated road network, economic activities and volume of trade in state would drop severely.

    “Everybody knows the importance role Aba plays in the sustenance of the state and Nigeria’s economy. Aba and Onitsha are the two markets we Igbo can boast of. Abia State and Federal Government should not allow our roads to degenerate more than it is now.

    “Aba-Ikot-Ekpene and Aba-Abayi-Ohabiam roads are two major entry and exit points into and from Aba which generates a lot of revenue for the state and the Federal Government. We are really suffering because of the situation of these roads. Business is seriously nose-diving in Aba.

    “Most of our customers are now going to nearby cities of Onitsha and Akwa Ibom to buy their goods to avoid the stress associated with these roads,” a resident told our correspondent.

    Investigations revealed that motorists and commuters coming in and out of Aba from Akwa Ibom State and Port Harcourt were subjected to harrowing situations as the entry points to Aba from the two neighbouring states are heavily flooded, making it inaccessible for motorists and commuters.

    It was also revealed that youths in some of Abia communities along the Aba-Ikot Ekpene Road collect toll fees from drivers for making use of their local roads, a situation that has been condemned by motorists.

    An electronic dealer at the Orie Ohabiam market, who identified himself as Joseph, lamented the hardship traders experience on the road. He disclosed that some of the traders now board public vehicles instead of using their own vehicles because of the poor state of Aba-Abayi-Ohabiam Road.

    A resident of Uratta Junction said: “Port Harcourt Road has become a source of anguish and sorrow for most residents in the area. There was a time the state government rehabilitated the road. We were happy, but our happiness was short-lived because the road collapsed in less than a year after its construction. “It became bad that we started questioning the quality of job that the contractor carried out. If the state and Federal Government will come to our aid, it will be a welcome development.”

    A motorist that plies Aba to Port Harcourt lamented: “Roads in Aba are in a sorry state. Expressway from Aba to Port Harcourt is also in a sorry state. Sometimes we wonder if the state and Federal Government have abandoned us to our fate. They should come to our aid.

    The Director, Federal Ministry of Works in Abia State could not be reached for comments on the matter as he was not in his office when our reporter visited their Amakama Office near Umuahia, the state capital.

    However, a staff of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) who spoke to our correspondent in confidence because he was not competent to speak to the press on the matter said before the rains, they had started what he described as palliative work on the two roads to reduce the sufferings of road users.

    The source also stated that soon, a contractor will be mobilised to the two sites, as arrangements were being made to ensure that commuters drive in and out of Aba on good roads.

    Recall that Abia State government had recently called on the Federal Government to immediately commence work on the reconstruction of all federal roads in the state, especially the Aba/Ikot Ekpene and Port Harcourt.

    It was learnt that the Commissioner for Works, Hon. Emeka Longman Nwachukwu was quoted to have said that the deplorable state of federal roads in the state which serve as links to other neighbouring states were not only causing embarrassment to the state government, but also affecting commercial activities in the state, adding that the huge sum of money expended by the state government on maintaining the roads are yet to be reimbursed by the Federal Government.

    Nwachukwu said many roads are being constructed in Aba, even as he warned Aba residents to stop the habit of building structures on drainage system.

  • Agency honours 17 staff

    Agency honours 17 staff

    The Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has honoured 17 of its workers.

    The assessment which led to the awards covered 2011, 2012 and 2013. The recipients were selected from all grade levels.

    Present at the award ceremony held at Ladi Kwali Hall, Abuja Sheraton Hotel and Towers, were Chairman Senate Committee on Works, Senator Ayogu Eze who was also Chairman of the occasion, Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji, Director-General Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Mr Emeka Eze, Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Works, Dr. Abubakar Koro Muhammad who represented Minister of Works, Alhaji Kassim Ibrahim Bataiya, President, National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) who is also a member of FERMA Governing Board as well as other members of the Governing Board, representatives of major contractors and other dignitaries.

    Addressing the recipients and other members of staff of the agency, Senator Ayogu Eze said the reward for hard work was more work, even as he advised those who were recognised to show more commitment. He also advised those yet to be recognised to work harder and be optimistic.

    He also said the impact of FERMA on government’s effort to improve federal roads nation-wide has been felt and praised by the public.

    Head of Service of the Federation, Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji, expressed his happiness over the commitment of FERMA to improving the country’s road sector. With FERMA’s achievements, he said, the notion that civil servants don’t contribute to economic growth has been effectively proved wrong.

    Contributing, Chairman FERMA Governing Board, Mr Ezekiel O. Adeniji said the board is lucky to have a competent and committed management team as well as a conducive policy environment and good will from the Goodluck Jonathan administration, which was determined to turn around the fortunes of the federal road network.

    In the same manner, Managing Director/CEO of FERMA Mr Gabriel Amuchi thanked the recipients and other members of staff for contributing towards the agency’s success through effective maintenance of federal roads.

    The agency, he said, has reduced the stock of poor and bad roads on the federal road network from 85 per cent in 2003 when FERMA commenced operation to about 26 per cent in 2013.

    He said FERMA is better positioned and resolved in its commitment to improving the country’s road network with the acquisition of necessary machinery as well as engagement and training of staff. He also said management is enhancing staff welfare.

    Among the recipients were Mrs. Maryam M. Sanusi, Assistant Director and Head of Communications and Public Relations Unit, Mrs Iniobong L. Usoro, Acting General Manager (Procurement), Mr Kaboshiyo D. Avongs, Zonal Co-ordinator, northwest zone I and Mr Thomas Bassey Eyo, Head Research and Development, among others