The House of Representatives Joint Committee on Works, Environment, Finance, Justice, and Science & Technology has held a one-day public hearing on the adoption of concrete technology for road construction in Nigeria.

Declaring the event open, the Speaker of the House, TAJUDEEN ABBAS, lamented the poor condition of roads across the country.

Represented by the Chief Whip, BELLO KUMO, the Speaker charged all stakeholders present to lay bare the issues, promising to address them through legislative intervention.

The Chairman of the Joint Committee, AKIN ALABI, lamented that most road contractors engaged by the government do not give value for money, adding that the 10th Assembly will do its best to change the narrative.

Also speaking, Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Highway and Transportation Engineers, SAIDU HASSAN, counselled the parliament to subject the policy to the scrutiny of highway stakeholders to ensure that the appropriate engineering procedures and processes are strictly adhered to.

On his part, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Nigeria Society of Engineers, EMEKA EZEH, argued that since several factors come to play during road construction the role of the parliament should be to legislate but not to decide what model of roads to construct.

Representative of the Ministry of Works, ADEDAMOLA KUTI, said the use of concrete must be reconsidered given the harsh economic environment arising from fluctuation in the exchange rate.