Yuletide Season: FERMA Launches Road Fixes Across Kebbi—-The Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) in Kebbi, on Wednesday commenced repairs on major federal roads under its Operation Connect to Your Destination (OCYD) initiative, ahead of the 2025 Yuletide season.

Flagging off the exercise at Km 1+150 along the Kalgo-Bunza road, the FERMA Engineer-in-Charge in the state, Mr Rilwanu Usman, said the operation was designed to ease travel difficulties and reduce accidents during the festive period.

“The essence of our coming here today is to kick-start Operation Connect to Your Destination 3.0 under the leadership of our Managing Director, Dr Chukwuemeka Agbasi. This is the third edition of this nationwide operation.

“Anyone familiar with this road knows how dangerous it is, given the high rate of fatal accidents leading to loss of lives and property.

“Our goal is to avert such tragedies and ensure a hitch-free Yuletide travel season,” he said.

Usman explained that the exercise involves intensive pothole patching, rehabilitation of failed sections and asphalt overlays to strengthen the road surface.

“We are targeting a completely pothole-free stretch from the beginning of the road to the junction, and we even intend to go beyond that,” he added.

The engineer noted that FERMA had remained visible across Kebbi, citing the recent restoration of a destructed flooded section along the Argungu-WACOT road.

“Even this road linking Bunza to Koko has witnessed significant repairs.

“During the rainy season, heavy articulated vehicles diverted to this axis after the collapse of a bridge on the Koko road.

“We intend to restore it fully and keep it motorable,” he said.

Usman commended the agency’s MD, Agbasi for the initiative, stressing that it aligned with the Federal Government’s mandate to keep all federal roads serviceable.

He also acknowledged the support of Gov. Nasir Idris of Kebbi and the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Atiku Bagudu, for their contributions to President Bola Tinubu’s vision of an efficient and economically vibrant Nigeria.

“Our responsibility is to ensure that failures and distressed sections are remedied promptly. This programme enables us to do that in a more targeted and impactful manner,” he said.

On his part, the representative of the Federal Ministry of Works in the state, Alhaji Malami Aliyu, said the ministry was monitoring FERMA’s activities to ensure that roads remained safe and durable.

“We are working together to protect lives and property through quality road infrastructure.

“We commend FERMA for this initiative, which complements routine maintenance efforts,” he said.

A cross section of motorists interviewed by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) expressed satisfaction with the intervention, describing it as timely and beneficial.

A commercial driver, Malam Dauda Alkali, praised FERMA for its consistent commitment to maintaining federal roads in the state.

“The way FERMA is working on federal roads in Kebbi is commendable. Their efforts should be emulated by the state government, especially on roads linking Nigeria to Benin and Niger Republics,” Alkali advised.

He added that the initiative had eased the hardship motorists had faced following the devastation caused by heavy rains and flooding during the last rainy season.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state, Alhaji Garba Dan-Malam, described the exercise as a “much-needed intervention.”

He lauded the federal government and FERMA’s MD for formulating and sustaining the programme for the benefit of motorists and road users nationwide.