- Lawyer berates FERMA
Following the federal government’s neglect of the busy Abuja-Keffi Expressway, an Abuja-based resident, Daniel Dafor, was on Tuesday, seen making repairs on parts of the road specifically between the Nyanya checkpoint and Muhammadu Buhari International Market, using his funds.
This comes after the road’s neglect had caused significant hardship for commuters.
An Abuja-based lawyer Vincent Adodo, in a telephone conversation with The PUNCH on Tuesday, said he had previously alerted the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) about the dire state of the road.
“On October 2, 2024, I sent a formal letter to FERMA’s Managing Director, urging immediate action and even issuing a pre-action notice in case my concerns were ignored,” Adodo said.
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“Just two days after submitting the letter, I noticed some repair efforts, but I was surprised to discover that it was the work of one man – Mr. Daniel Dafor – not FERMA.
“While initially I thought that FERMA was behind these efforts, I began to suspect otherwise when I noticed it was only one man who was working on the road day and night.
“Today, I met the man behind these modest efforts. His name is Mr. Daniel Dafor. I approached him while working on the failed portions of the road along the sharp corner.”
He said he sought to know if his efforts were sponsored by the Federal Government, to my surprise, he told me he was undertaking those modest efforts as a volunteer and that the materials he had been using were procured with his resources.
“I bought all the materials myself and work day and night because the situation is urgent, and waiting for the authorities would only cause more delays and suffering for road users,” he said.
Adodo expressed both admiration and disappointment. “Citizens like Mr. Dafor are rare,” he stated. “It is inspiring to see someone use their resources for the public good. But it’s also deeply scandalous that a private individual has to step in where a federal agency, mandated and funded to do so, has failed.”
The lawyer again called on FERMA to wake up from its slumber and repair the failed portions of the Abuja Keffi Expressway.
“Is it not very scandalous that a private citizen is now doing the work of a Federal Government agency?
“It is more disheartening that despite that its attention has been called to the terrible situation of this road, FERMA, an agency of the Federal Government, has deliberately neglected and failed to perform its statutory functions. And yet, this same agency will present a budget to the National Assembly for approval for work that is not being done,” he lamented.
