Author: ferma

The Managing Director, Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Engr. Nuruddeen A. Rafindadi (FNSE), has assured the Government and people of Bauchi State of the determination of the Agency to give special attention to the rehabilitation and maintenance of federal roads in Bauchi State, being the gateway of North Eastern States. And to also assist the Governor in his efforts towards the establishment of Bauchi State Road Maintenance Agency.

The MD made this statement when the Governor of Bauchi State, His Excellency, Sen. Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed and his team called on him in his office, Tuesday, 11th February, 2020 at the Agency Headquarters, Abuja.

Rafindadi however lamented the paucity of funds as a factor limiting the concerted effort the Agency is making to make federal roads safe and motorable across the nation.

He commended the Governor for his leadership style and for recognizing the giant strides FERMA is recording in Bauchi State, adding that he was humbled by the coming of the Governor and for the excellent remarks made concerning the Agency.

Earlier, The Governor of Bauchi, Sen. Mohammed in his address commended FERMA for the works done so far in Bauchi, saying that there have been improvement on the road sector, both in terms of maintenance and rehabilitation since the Managing Director assumed office.  He added that “I can say without fear of contradiction that there have been very impressive improvement in the maintenance of roads in the State.”

Mohammed further said that “The State will not be ungrateful to FERMA as they have benefitted maximally from the tremendous work FERMA is doing on the federal roads that traverses the State.”

The Governor added that there were however some challenges which abound in the State because of the inflow of people from the neighbouring States as a result of its peaceful nature. The neighbouring states have in recent years been bedeviled by the activities of Boko Haram and other terrorist activities.

This he said, has overwhelmed and overstretched the usage of the road corridors and other social services, which in turn causes a lot of hazards on the roads.

He further highlighted Bauchi-Gombe-Alkaleri roads as areas of concern as the Bauchi section of it has not been rehabilitated as against that of other sections of the road. Other sections he pointed out, which are also of   concern are the Kari-Misau-Yana-Kwanan Huguma road and Yashi-Duguri road.

The Governor crave the indulgence of the Agency to help rehabilitate these roads to ease the difficulty the road users encounter on daily basis. He said, “we are pleading with you to come to our aid,  the roads have definitely failed, but even if it has failed, we have to go along with your mandate to maintain it in such a manner that it will be motorable, until the Federal Government gets fund to completely rehabilitate the roads”.

In his conclusion, the Governor said the State was ready to partner FERMA to tap from the vast knowledge and experience as master of road sector to enable the State to perform well as they intend to establish a State own Road Maintenance Agency.

The Managing Director, United Kingdom Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF), Prof. Chidi Onyia, led a team of representatives of the organization on a courtesy visit to Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), recently to seek for technical partnership with FERMA.

Prof. Chidi, in his introductory remarks, said the objectives of the programme includes; funding Federal road network with the hope of promoting economic growth, support initiatives that help to improve condition of Federal road Network and to provide network condition supporting economic growth. Prof. Chidi said the programme is demand driven and so, requires full compliance of the Agency in areas of close working relationship, technical demands and signed agreement which helps conduct the activities. The support programme, Onyia added, is for four years with possibility of two years extension in order to meet its set target.

The Lead, Road component, Mr. Bill Mcmahon while speaking, said the key areas of support by the UKNIAF are road sector reform (Road Authority & Road Fund), Predictable and sustainable funding for rehabilitation and Maintenance, Road Asset Management System RAMS (Improved decision making for road investments, evidence based prioritized best value for money) and project delivery (review current procedures, identify obstacles to effective delivery, update procedures, reduce delays and cost over runs.

He stressed that the overall potential outcome of these key support areas will increase quality of travel time via roads, reduce maintenance and fuel, improve journey reliability, reduce travel cost, improve national and regional economic growth and increase trade and agricultural exports.

In his response, the Managing Director, FERMA, Engr. Nuruddeen A. Rafindadi, FNSE, said the Agency is open to partnering with UKNIAF for technical support which will tremendously aid in project delivery.

The MD added that FERMA and Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (NIAF) have formed a strong partnership in the past which include technical support in the use of evidence based planning for road maintenance investment centered on robust data collection regimes. He further said that with the partnership with NIAF, the framework for demand led technical support to FERMA under the current UKNIAF programme has been finalized.

UKNIAF also sought to understand FERMA’s information and data needs to enable it take a holistic approach that would be beneficial to all.

UKNIAF is a Department for Internal Development (DFID) funded technical assistance programme designed to support Nigeria’s infrastructure development with special focus on power, roads, capital budgeting, public partnership infrastructure financing and infrastructure rehabilitation in the North East region. The aim of the program is in two fold, to improve institutional management and decision making process regarding social and economic infrastructures, to enhance the institutional environment and structures supporting the raising and allocation of public private partnership finance.

Present at the presentation meeting were the Executive Directors/Board Members and some FERMA management staff.

The Managing Director of FERMA, Engr. Nuruddeen A. Rafindadi, FNSE, has received a patriotic Star Award, ‘’Social Service Icon of the year 2019’’. The award which was presented to him today the 21^st of January, 2020 by TheNigerian News, is in recognition of his excellent stewardship and great leadership in the intervention and maintenance of Federal roads across the nation, which has drastically given succor to users of the roads and reduce the activities of robbers and other security vices on the roads.

The Managing Director, Rafindadi on receiving the award appreciated TheNigerian News team for a job well done, and also thanked the President for the honour to serve this great country.

 At the Awards and Honour presentation during a courtesy visit to FERMA Managing Director, the Managing Director of TheNigerian News, Engr. David Onmeje said, “This prestigious award is in honour of your transcendent leadership in responding to call for intervention on road repairs and maintenance across the country which has endeared you to the entire nation”; he added that the award was also to appreciate Nigerians that have shown themselves friends to humanity and share Mr. President’s vision for a corrupt free and effective nation.

TheNigerian News platform comprises of a TV House; Television Nigerian and an online news portal with a soon to be launched online radio station. The platform was launched by a group of patriotic Nigerians based in United Kingdom to project the country in good light and tell the Nigerian stories in the Nigerian way.

The 3^rd anniversary held in Nigeria on 30^th December, 2019 at NAF conference centre, Abuja, with the highpoint being a book presentation titled “integrity vs power play: Understanding the Buhari phenomenon” by Philip Agbese.

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF ONE DAY STAKEHOLDERS’ FORUM ORGANIZED BY THE FEDERAL ROADS MAINTENANCE AGENCY ON“ROAD MAINTENANCE AND REFORMS: LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK”HELD ON TUESDAY 15TH OCTOBER 2019, AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE, ABUJA. PreambleAt the stakeholders’ forum held on Tuesday 15th October 2019 on the state of Nigerian Roads titled “Road Maintenance and Reforms: Legal and Institutional Framework”; issues bothering on road maintenance in Nigeria were discussed.

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The Managing Director, Engr. Nuruddeen Rafindadi FNSE, represented by Head, Procurement Department, Engr. (Mrs.)B.A. Ilemore, has expressed the Agency’s desire in selecting the best suited contractors for the jobs earlier advertised in the Federal Tenders Journal, vol. 15 and the Nation and Leadership newspapers of 29th July, 2019.

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In a bid to enhance productivity among staff, the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency has awarded deserving staff, and honoured retirees in an End of the year programme at the International Conference Centre, Abuja recently. The Award is part of the several ways the Agency motivates staff to achieve optimal performance.
Staff Motivation is important in an organisation as it stimulates and inspires employees to perform optimally and buy into the organisation’s goals.
The recipients of the awards include; Engr. Atiku Abubakar who received the most innovative staff; Aroh Fidelia, best behaved staff; while most productive staff was awarded to Engr. Sunday Taiwo; Omotunde Olalekan bagged the best staff award; best zonal director was given to Engr. Aina B. Olasoji.
Others were; most productive Department, Office of the Managing Director; while Management Info System (ICT) received the most productive Unit of the Agency; Engr. Maduagwu C. Chibueze got best Federal Roads Maintenance Engineer (FRME); most productive State goes to Katsina field office and Fimba Wakil won award for the best driver.
The Managing Director, Engr. Nuruddeen Rafindadi, FNSE, in his opening remarks, appreciated the staff and encouraged them to continue to put in their best and maintain the tempo. He promised that it will be a continuous exercise. Engr. Rafindadi enjoined the recipients of the award to continue to improve in discharging their duties, while he encouraged other staff to see it as a challenge to also do better in the discharge of their duties.
The Agency used the opportunity of the programme to unveil the 8th edition of FERMA digest.
FERMA digest is a quarterly in-house magazine that enlightens the public on the activities of the Agency.

In a bid to fulfilling its mandate and to make travelling across the country easier for the road users, the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) conveyed Stakeholders Forum recently at the International Conference Centre, Abuja to brainstorm and proffer solutions to challenges being encountered by the Agency in the effective discharge of its mandate.
The Managing Director, FERMA, Engr. Nuruddeen. A. Rafindadi, FNSE, in his welcome address at the FREMA Stakeholders forum said, the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) was established 30th November 2002 by the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (Establishment, etc.) Act 2002, an Act of the National Assembly. The Agency was established for proper monitoring and maintenance of all Federal roads as stated in clause 4 of this enabling Act. It commenced operation in April 2003 saying the establishment was the first official attempt to institutionalize some reform in national road management.
He added that FERMA is charged with the responsibility to monitor and maintain the 30,000 km Federal roads out of about 200,000km in lane kilometres in the National road network with about 35,000km gazetted as Federal roads while State governments is responsible for another 32,000 km, with the remaining 134,000km in the purview of Local Governments.
Rafindadi disclosed that FERMA maintains fully staffed offices in every State of the Federation, each led by a Federal Roads Maintenance Engineer, this, he said was to enable FERMA deliver on its mandate of monitoring and maintaining Federal Roads nationwide. He however said that funding; amongst other considerations are determinants in the effective productivity of the Agency in delivering on its mandate. He added that his hope was that a number of feasible, but researchable solutions to the teething challenges of the Agency will be proffered during the stakeholders’ forum.
In his Keynote address, the Chairman, Governing Board of FERMA, Mr. Tunde Lemo, said Over 80% of travels in Nigeria are carried out on roads; with about 90% of that being largely Federal interstate roads. Thus, Federal roads constitute the spine of the Nigerian road network. To effectively evaluate the productive management of the Nigerian road therefore, one needs only to evaluate the effective management of the Federal roads. With only about 10,0000km of Federal roads in ‘good’ state and about 13,300km and 11,600km in ‘fair’ and ‘bad’ states, respectively; it isn’t difficult to understand why road density in Nigeria is a paltry 0.21km/sq.km.2.
Lemo said funding for Nigerian roads is less than 1.0% GDP (against a 3.0% GDP WB minimum spending threshold). He added that at the moment, funding for Nigerian roads has largely been from fiscal allocation through Appropriation Acts, with an increasingly shrinking national budget, and fierce competition for such fund between different sectors and subsector of national economy. It is imperative that the development and management of road sector explore alternative funding sources. He called for an emergency action in the road sector by the government.
Corroborating the position of the Agency, the Chairman, Senate Committee on FERMA, Senator Gershom Bassey, and his counterpart at the House of Representative, Femi Bamisile, also frown at the poor funding of FERMA. Gershom said the Senate expressed serious concern that several thousands of lives had been lost to road accidents due to deplorable state of roads which also gives the kidnapper and armed robbers opportunity to operate freely on Nigerian highways. He disclosed that he moved a motion on the floor of the Senate on the deplorable state of Federal highways that are in need of urgent attention, and asking the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on Federal Roads across the nation. He stated that the Senate Committee on FERMA, Petroleum Downstream and National Planning have been mandated to investigate the non- remittance of the five percent (5%) user charge on pump price of petrol and international vehicle transit charge accruing to FERMA. These, he said will serve as alternative source of income that will help FERMA to discharge its duties more effectively and efficiently, thereby bringing relief to road users.

The Managing Director, FERMA, Engr. Nuruddeen. A. Rafindadi, had in an interactive session with the senate committee on FERMA, Wednesday 9th October disclosed that the reason for the briefing was to enunciate the mandate, funding, operations and management of Federal roads in Nigeria. He said it was also to highlight the challenges of FERMA operations and to propose suggestions on resolving the challenges.
Rafindadi stated that FERMA was established by an Act of National Assembly of 2002 and an amendment of 2007, to monitor and maintain all Federal roads in Nigeria, and to do all the needful to maintain enough presence nationwide in carrying out this mandate.
He disclosed that FERMA operations include routine and periodic maintenance works, major and minor repair works, emergency road repair works, road and route marking, providing road furniture, Direct Labour interventions, construction and maintenance of hydraulic structures and zonal intervention (constituency) projects.
Furthermore, Rafindadi said that the Agency has a number of challenges that have affected the performance of delivering on its mandate. The major one being poor funding which he said is responsible for a lot of intervention not being done. Also, National insecurity across the country, rainy season and poor condition of service were enumerated as challenges the Agency grapples with in the discharge of its mandate.
The MD called on the Senate Committee to come to the aid of FERMA by ensuring that the implementation of the 5% user charge on Petroleum product is effected saying that this will dramatically increase the Agency’s capacity to work. He also enjoined them to help in creating a special funding to allow FERMA do projects which are outside FERMA mandate but necessarily requires FERMA intervention to alleviate the pains of the masses.
The Senate Committee members took time to appreciate the efforts of the Agency, and the challenges it is facing, promising to do all within it power to see that FERMA is well funded so as to enable it meet with the mandate for which it was created.
The Senate Committee on FERMA is chaired by Sen. Gershom Bassey with Sen. Abdullahi Kabir Barkiya as the Vice Chairman.

Maryam M. Sanusi (Mrs.)
Deputy Director/Head (Comm./PR)
9th October, 2019

FERMA GOVERNING BOARD VISITS WORKS AND HOUSING MINISTER- URGES THE MINISTRY FOR SUPPORT TO ENSURE ADEQUATE APPROPRIATIONS AND RELEASES IN THE ANNUAL BUDGET CYCLES

The Chairman, FERMA Governing Board, Mr. Tunde Lemo has called on the continuing support of the Minister of Works and Housing Mr. Babatunde Fashola for  adequate appropriations and releases in the annual budget circles, as well as any other special interventions to enable the Agency perform at its best.

The Chairman said this when he led the Governing Board of FERMA on a courtesy visit to the Honourable Minister of Works and Housing (FMW&H) Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) in his office today the 9th of September, 2019.

Tunde Lemo congratulating the Minister on his re-appointment said, the re-appointment was a fitting recognition of his sterling record in the leadership of the then Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing in the past four years.

Continuing, the Chairman said the role of FERMA directly fits into the functions of the FMW&H saying that FERMA was created as an Agency to ensure the efficient and effective maintenance of all existing Federal Trunk Roads, while FMW&H governs the policy framework and development of the nation’s road sector. He added that FERMA cannot effectively attain its objective without a continuing partnership and collaboration with, and the strong support of the FMW&H. He further  argued that effective planning for maintenance of roads should actually start from FMW&H‘s planning and design stages, a fact, which he said underlines the inclusion of the Ministry’s Director of Highways Planning as a member of the FERMA Board.

Mr. Tunde Lemo further explained that maintenance work plans prepared and executed by FERMA are based among other factors on the FMW&H’S road sector national prioritization, as well as on specific exigent situations dictated by the Ministry. The Ministry should factor in, the maintenance Agency’s roles in all road’s investment, including for example the SUKUK BOND funded interventions’’

The Honourable Minister, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), in his response said FERMA was an important component of what FMW&H has and need to do, and for that purpose the partnership and support for FERMA cannot be over-emphasized.  Commending FERMA for work it has been doing across the nation, Fashola said, he has enjoyed working with FERMA as the synergy formed with FERMA has been working.

The Minister said that there is need for more cooperation with the Highway Controllers, even though the core mandate of FERMA is road maintenance, adding that highway maintenance is very critical to increase in productivity and creation of jobs which is the goal of the present administration.

Fashola consequently pledges that the Ministry will continue to partner and support the Agency to enable it achieve it mandate.

The act of actualizing a mandate (vision) must be deliberately and intentionally executed without which all steps/actions taken pertaining to a venture might only amount to efforts in futility.

Relating the above analogy to the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), the organization, via her endeavours, deemed it fit to include in her organizational structure the Design, Research and Development Division.  The Division, under the Planning and Engineering Services Department (P&ES) is saddled with:

• Providing both technical and highway research works;
• Providing road products and chemical analysis;
• Undertaking quality control and quality assurance for all FERMA projects;
• Providing inputs on polymer materials and other road maintenance products;
• Providing geological services and general research and innovations;
• Conducting research into road products, chemical analysis and innovations;

All with the aim to ensure quality and improve road maintenance.

With these enormous responsibilities and the need to remain in tandem with the mandate, deliberate steps were taken to establish laboratories in the zonal offices. It became necessary as it was obvious that the importance of adhering to specifications, testing of materials before deployment to site and ensuring the quality of maintenance materials could not be over emphasized. This, has invariably, aided FERMA’s adherence to globally accepted road maintenance practice.  

The Agency, over the years has carried out exercises in this respect with the establishment in 2014 of thirteen (13) nos. laboratories in various zones. Recently, laboratory training/workshop exercise was carried out in Sokoto State, the North-West zone.  Also, regular inspection visits are embarked on to constantly ascertain the optimal performance of the laboratories.

Nine (9) out of the Thirteen (13) nos. labs are mobile. They are located in Bauchi, Oyo, Kano, Enugu, Rivers, Benue, Lagos states and Two (2) in Kuje and Gwagwalada in the Federal Capital Territory (F.C.T). The other four (4) are stationed in Edo, Sokoto, Cross-River, and Yobe states respectively.