The Senate at its plenary session of Thursday, 5 June 2017, suspended the passage of the National Road Funds Bill, 2017 which seeks to create an agency for the purpose of financing the maintenance and rehabilitation of national roads.

Presenting the report on the Bill, Chairman of the Committee on Works, Sen. Kabiru Gaya (APC: Kano) highlighted the objectives of the Bill to include:

• Establishment of the National Roads Fund as a repository of revenues from road user charges and other sources which shall be managed and administered for routine and periodic maintenance of roads in Nigeria;
• Provision of a predictable and sustainable source of funds for road management;
• The establishment of a Governing Board which shall be responsible for the management of the Fund; and
• Creation of an enabling environment for private sector participation, management and financing in the road sector.

During his submissions, Sen. Gaya explained that the sources of revenues for the National Roads Fund would be generated from fuel levy on imported and locally refined petroleum products, axle load control charges; and toll fees.

In addition, he mentioned that the Committee had agreed on the following recommendations for approval by the Senate:

• That the National Roads Fund will be established under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance who shall only oversee the funds for policy direction which is critical for the achievement of road infrastructure development and administration;
• Board Members are non-executive and their services would be on a part-time basis;
• The use of National Roads Fund is restricted to routine and periodic maintenance of road networks;
• An amount not exceeding 3% of the total monies accrued shall be set aside as the Administrative Fund.
• Agencies that would receivemoney from the National Road Fund must be established by law as an independent agency with dedicated accounts; and
• The National Roads Fund should be excluded from the Consolidated Revenue Fund and Treasury Single Account.

Lastly, he said that the Bill if passed, would contribute positively to economic growth, guarantee safety for road users and deliver road networks that will be a model for adoption by other countries.

However, in suspending consideration of the Bill, the Senate rejected the committee’s recommendation on the Funding of the National Roads Fund from levies gotten on imported and locally refined petroleum products and mandated that the Committee embark on further legislative consultations.