President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive nationwide assessment of federal highways, alongside the development of a geo-referenced national road database aimed at strengthening planning, maintenance, and value for money in infrastructure delivery.
The president emphasized that sustainable road management must be driven by accurate and dependable data, noting that the government can no longer depend on reactive maintenance strategies.
He made the directive known through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Roads Summit organised by the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) in Abuja.
He directed FERMA to step up routine road condition checks, safety audits, and post-failure evaluations across the federal road network, stressing the urgent need for a detailed inventory of failed and failing roads nationwide.
According to the president, the proposed geo-referenced database should comprehensively capture the causes of road deterioration, including design deficiencies, construction quality issues, axle overloading, drainage problems, climate-related impacts, and maintenance shortcomings.
“With accurate and up-to-date data, Nigeria can move decisively from emergency repairs to predictive and preventive maintenance planning,” he said.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Works, Bello Muhammad Goronyo, lamented the misuse of Nigerian roads, citing overloading, reckless driving, and unauthorised usage as major contributors to road damage.
FERMA’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Dr. Emeka Agbasi, described roads as critical to national economic growth, noting that they support the movement of agricultural produce to markets, industrial goods to ports, and access to education and healthcare services.
However, he warned that ageing infrastructure, maintenance backlogs, climate-induced damage, limited funding, and road safety challenges continue to impose heavy economic costs, including increased vehicle operating expenses, longer travel times, reduced competitiveness, and heightened risks to human lives.
