A fund to cater for the construction and maintenance of roads in the country is in the works, the Federal Ministry of Works has said.

The Director, Federal Highway Services in the ministry, Alhaji Shehu Dankano, said this at the inauguration of the headquarters of the National Association of Road Transport Owners in Abuja on Tuesday.

Dankano said the National Roads Fund Bill was already in the National Assembly and expressed confidence that the 8th legislature would expedite action on the bill to provide systematic funding for the repair and construction of roads in the country.

Speaking with journalists at the event, the National President of NARTO, Alhaji Kassim Bataiya, denied that the association was frustrating the rehabilitation of the railways, adding that Nigerian roads were collapsing due to overuse.

He said, “NARTO as an organisation is not against the operation of railways in the country. We have actually been pleading with the government to put our railways in order so that our roads will be less busy.

“Why our roads fail today is because of overuse. Goods that are supposed to be conveyed by rail, especially plants and equipment, are being carried on the roads. Goods that are supposed to go through the pipelines are now being transported by tanker trucks.

“So, the roads are overused. NARTO will be pleased to see our rail system working perfectly. We are not against the coming back of the railway transportation system in Nigeria.”

Read More: punchng