By: AMAWU, Cletus Albert Amawu.
Senator Gershom Bassey, representing the Southern Senatorial District of Cross River State, and Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), defer the heavy rains and proceeded to inspect various FERMA construction sites in his Committee oversight function.
According to Senator Gershom, FERMA is intervened in Federal Roads across the State in Odukpani, Ogoja, Ikom, Calabar South, Calabar Municipality, Yakurr, Boki, Akpaboyu and Ranch in Obanliku Local Government. He assured that other local communities would soon benefit from the intervention scheme which is either though direct labour and awarded to contractors.
On the Odukpani-Itu Road, he said the contract have been awarded to three contractors, Sermatech, Julius Berger and a Chinese Company. Hence, the disagreement with some communities over passage of way has been resolved. He called on the Federal Government to release funds for the commencement of construction work to alleviate road users on the devastated road.
“A month ago the Minister for Works and Housing announced the award of the unawarded section of the Odukpani -Itu road and our expectation is that there should be no impediment on the speedy release of funds for work to start on the road because the people have suffered for far too long”
“We are in the process of oversight function to ensure that the work on our roads is properly done and I have told the engineers that they should get ready with all their documents and get ready to bring them to Abuja because we at the National Assembly want Nigerians to get value for money spent on these projects”.
Senator Gershom “so far the quality of work on projects inspected is encouraging but that, a technical inspection team will be sent from Abuja to verify and once cleared, then a handshake will follow.”
“It is worthy of note that, for the first time the South-South Zone and Cross River is allocated high numbers of roads being intervened on by FERMA,” and promised that more roads would be rehabilitated in the 2022 fiscal year.