The Federal Government has revealed that maintaining Nigeria’s road network effectively will require an annual budget of about ₦880 billion, an amount far beyond current allocations.
Minister of State for Works, Mohammed Goroyo, disclosed this during a House of Representatives investigative hearing on the management of the statutory five per cent user charge meant for road maintenance.
According to Goroyo, inadequate funding has continued to stall progress on road upkeep.
“In 2023, FERMA received ₦76.3 billion; it rose to ₦103.3 billion in 2024 and ₦168.9 billion in 2025. These are still significantly below the required threshold,” he said.
He emphasised that the failure to access the road user charge, mandated under the FERMA Act, has limited the agency to emergency patchwork rather than proactive maintenance, worsening road conditions nationwide.
Supporting the claim, FERMA Managing Director, Chukwuemeka Agbasi, said the regulatory framework to collect the 5% levy on petrol and diesel sales has never been implemented, leaving the agency underfunded.
“Our roads are essential for economic activity. The user charge was designed as a sustainable source of funding, but it remains untapped,” Agbasi noted.
House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas described the situation as a violation of the FERMA Amendment Act, 2007, and called for a full investigation. He stated that the inquiry seeks to determine how much has been unremitted, who is responsible, and how to prevent future breaches.
Committee Chairman Francis Waive clarified that the hearing was not to alter fuel pricing or amend the law but to enforce compliance with legislation already in place.
