Osun PDP Rep, Bamidele Salam tackles Fashola, challenges minister to three-month road trips

The House of Representatives member representing Ede-North/Ede-South/Egbedore/Ejigbo Federal Constituency of Osun State, Mr Bamidele Salam, has challenged the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) and other relevant stakeholders to travel only by road for the next 90 days.

Salam challenged the minister to the road trips in response to his claim that roads in the country are not as bad as they are portrayed.

Fashola had on Wednesday, shortly after the Federal Executive Council meeting, dismissed reports on the poor state of the country’s roads as mere hypes.

“The roads are not as bad as they are often portrayed. I know that this is going to be your headline, but the roads are not that bad,” he had told State House correspondents.

Salam, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, however, faulted the minister.

The lawmaker said, “I found this statement, which had been repeated by the Honourable Minister at least on two previous occasions as a clear indication that some of us in public offices are not, at all, in tune with the horrendous realities of our fellow citizens’ daily experience.”

According to Salam, appreciating what Nigerians go through on the bad roads daily requires that public office holders put themselves in the shoes of the average Nigerian and get first-hand experience of how the people survive on daily basis.

Salam called on Fashola and every relevant stakeholder to use these Nigerian roads for a reasonable length of time to understand the yearnings of Nigerians.

He said, “As a member of the House of Representatives Committee on Works, I will be throwing a road travel challenge to the Honourable Minister and all persons concerned to avoid air travel for all local trips in the next 90 days.

“If we will agree to this challenge, we may come back with a better appreciation of the true state of our road infrastructure and the desperate things we need to do to save our economy from further disruptions as a result of the burgeoning crisis in the road transportation sector.

Punch