Mark Urges Equity On FERMA Projects

The Senate President, David Mark, has in Abuja appealed to
senators, especially chairmen of committees, to ensure that projects included
in budgets were representative of the entire country.

Mark made the appeal while reacting to an allegation by Sen. Ita Enang (PDP-Akwa Ibom) that the 2012 budget of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) was skewed to favour only one zone.

The Senate president said although he had not seen the
budget, if Enang’s allegations were true, the senators were not being fair to
the rest of the country.

He said every senator is a senator of Nigeria. “If you are a
chairman of a committee, you must also know that there are other senators who
are chairmen of other committees.”

“We must be fair, and we must ensure that there is justice
and that there is equity. I don’t know what they have advertised, but if it is
skewed in one direction, it is not correct.

“It must be representative of this country. That is what the
Senate is all about,’’the Senate president said.

Enang had earlier observed that the FERMA budget was
lopsided as all projects for road construction were centred in only one state.

He said  Federal Road
Maintenance Agency (FERMA) was  not
representative of this country. It starts almost in one state and ends in one
state.

“The roads start mostly in the South East and are
concentrated in Enugu State. I’m sorry to say this, and that should not be done
in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“I am saying this from what is on record,’’ Enang
emphasised.

He had advocated that the budget of FERMA be stopped
immediately, and the money for road projects be shared to the zones.

“Let Enugu State alone not take the money that belongs to
the entire country. Mr President, I want us to even dissolve FERMA because it
is not doing what it is supposed to do.

“One person alone has the opportunity to write the budget,
he diverts everything to his village and starves the entire country.

“This is not the purpose of federal character. Even the
village of the Senate President is not captured in the FERMA projects, ’’he
said.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Works, Sen. Ayogu
Eze (PDP-Enugu) had, in his response to the allegations, said that the issue
was completely mistaken.

Eze explained that there had been an earlier publication of
constituency projects of some individuals which was not a representation of the
FERMA budget.

“What was advertised during the holidays was mainly some of
the new projects that came as a result of constituency projects of some
individuals.

“It is not a representation of the entire budget of FERMA.
Before they made this last advertisement, they have awarded about 90 per cent
of their contracts in different parts of the country,’’Eze said.