The Federal Government must allocate approximately ₦880 billion annually to effectively maintain the federal road network across Nigeria, according to the Minister of State for Works, Mohammed Goroyo.
Goroyo made this revelation on Monday during an investigative hearing conducted by the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on the implementation and remittances of the five per cent road user charge under the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA).
Speaking at the session in Abuja, Goroyo highlighted that current budgetary allocations have consistently fallen far short of what is needed for sustainable road maintenance. “FERMA requires an estimated ₦880bn annually for optimal road conditions,” he said. “However, allocations have remained grossly inadequate — ₦76.3bn in 2023, ₦103.3bn in 2024, and ₦168.9bn in 2025.”
He warned that the persistent funding gap has limited FERMA’s operations to reactive maintenance rather than a preventive, long-term strategy.
Further complicating the funding challenge, FERMA’s Managing Director, Chukwuemeka Abbasi, disclosed that the mechanism for deducting the five per cent road user charge from the pump prices of petrol and diesel was never implemented. The policy, initially under the now-defunct Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Authority, has not been enforced by its successor, the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
The House Committee is investigating why the road user charge—a critical revenue stream intended to support federal road upkeep—remains largely unaccounted for.
Stakeholders say urgent action is needed to close the infrastructure funding gap and transition FERMA toward a proactive maintenance regime to preserve the integrity of Nigeria’s road network.
