President calls for data-driven maintenance, geo-referenced road database
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive nationwide assessment of federal roads, alongside the development of a geo-referenced national road database to strengthen infrastructure planning, maintenance, and value for money.
The directive was conveyed through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, at the opening of the 2026 Roads Summit organised by the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, FERMA, in Abuja.
The president stressed that sustainable road management must be driven by accurate and reliable data, noting that the era of reactive and emergency road repairs must give way to predictive and preventive maintenance strategies.
As part of the directive, Tinubu instructed FERMA to intensify routine road condition monitoring, safety audits, and post-failure evaluations across the federal road network. He emphasized the need for a detailed national inventory of failed and failing roads.
According to the president, the proposed geo-referenced database should capture key causes of road deterioration, including poor design, construction defects, axle overloading, drainage failures, climate-related impacts, and inadequate maintenance practices.
“With accurate and up-to-date data, Nigeria can move decisively from emergency repairs to predictive and preventive maintenance planning,” Tinubu said.
Speaking at the summit, Minister of State for Works, Bello Muhammad Goronyo, decried the misuse of Nigerian roads, identifying overloading, reckless driving, and unauthorised usage as major contributors to infrastructure damage.
Meanwhile, FERMA’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Dr. Emeka Agbasi, described road infrastructure as vital to national economic growth, facilitating the movement of agricultural produce, industrial goods, and access to essential services such as education and healthcare.
However, he warned that ageing infrastructure, funding constraints, climate-induced damage, maintenance backlogs, and road safety challenges continue to impose significant economic costs, including longer travel times, higher vehicle operating expenses, reduced competitiveness, and increased risks to human lives.