The federal government has proposed N341 billion for emergency repair of roads and bridges nationwide.
The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, made this known on Saturday while updating members of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Works on the repair status of the Third Mainland and Carter bridges.
The minister and the legislators were on a tour of the Third Mainland and Carter bridges in Lagos State.
“We have proposed that N341 billion will be needed. We don’t know how much this is going to cost,” said Mr Umahi.
Mr Umahi said repairing the bridges would avert dangers.
The minister said N341 billion had been proposed to repair roads and bridges nationwide in 2025, but the amount might be insufficient considering the extent of the damage.
” If we are to rebuild these bridges, even N30 trillion will not do it; so, a stitch in time saves nine. This is very important.
“It is important that the National Assembly bears in mind that we have problems; there are no problems that cannot be surmounted, but problems should not be overlooked,” Mr Umahi said.
The minister praised President Bola Tinubu for his commitment to infrastructure development and called for urgent intervention on the bridges.
The National Assembly team gave the assurance that an urgent public engagement would be called to discuss the state of Nigerian roads.
They were led by the deputy chief whip of the Senate, Peter Nwebonyi.
The others are the minority whip of the Senate, Osita Ngwu, Mpigi Barinada, and the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Works, Akin Alabi.
The lawmakers regretted the lack of a maintenance plan after road construction or rehabilitation.
They said the bridges had remained in bad condition decades after their construction due to the absence of a maintenance plan.
They emphasised the importance of allocating a “condition survey ” budget for all bridges to ensure consistent maintenance and prevent damage.
(NAN)
