The Senate on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on federal roads amidst the rising airfares.
It also asked the government to make good its indebtedness to the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency to enable the agency carry out its responsibility of rehabilitating federal roads.
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The resolutions followed a motion by Senator Gershom Bassey (Cross River South) who called the attention of his colleagues to the increase in airfare and the implication for Nigerian roads.
Bassey said local airfares in Nigeria had risen by 63 per cent in response to a spike in the price of aviation fuel and attendant cost of operation.
He said the rise in airfare had pegged the minimum Economy Class ticket at N80,000 for travelers buying one-hour, one-way tickets.
He expressed worry that the increase in airfares would increase the pressure on the neglected and dilapidated Nigerian roads and further worsen their state.
He noted that FERMA had a budgetary approval of just 20 percent of the funds the agency requires for the rehabilitation of about 35,000km of federal roads in 2022.
