The Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has come under scrutiny following revelations that it expended over N407 million on a series of training programs, retreats, and workshops between November 2023 and December 2025. During this period, the agency, which is statutorily mandated to maintain federal road networks, issued 30 separate payments to a diverse array of firms, including law offices, travel agents, and even a healthcare provider, for services ranging from emotional intelligence seminars to defensive driving courses.
These expenditures occurred entirely under the leadership of Engr. Dr. Chukwuemeka Chijioke Agbasi, who was appointed as Managing Director by President Bola Tinubu in October 2023. The first of these payments was released just one month into his tenure, with the final transaction recorded on December 29, 2025.
The largest individual payout identified in the records was N50.7 million, issued on September 29, 2025, to Ivy Crest Solicitors. Classified as a “part payment” for capacity-building training for legal officers, the full cost of the workshop remains undisclosed. Notably, the firm has previously provided consultancy services to the agency regarding public-private partnerships. Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) records indicate that the business name for Ivy Crest Solicitors is currently marked as inactive, while another entity, Ivy Crest Advisory and Consulting Limited, received earlier payments for bespoke courses.
The pattern of spending extended to varied, and at times peculiar, service providers. On Christmas Eve 2023, Kingsgrace Consulting Services—a firm registered as inactive—was paid over N9.6 million for a leadership workshop, following an earlier payment of nearly N10 million for emotional and artificial intelligence training. Similarly, a healthcare firm, Lifecure Healthcare Ltd, received N21 million in late 2025 for “capacity building training” related to procurement implementation processes, despite the company’s primary focus being healthcare and diagnostics.
Financial records also revealed inconsistencies in project execution and billing. In August and September 2024, the agency paid N7.2 million twice to Joep Engineering and Consultancy Limited for the exact same batch of quality assurance training for highway engineers. Furthermore, on the final day of 2024, the agency issued identical payments of N5.79 million to three different companies—Meridian Height Professional Services Ltd, Time Technologies Ltd, and Tetpearl Expert Services Ltd—for the same risk management workshop.
Other disbursements included payments for solar-powered street light installations that were bundled with youth training programs, as well as travel expenses for governing board retreats. While the Public Procurement Act mandates transparency and competitive bidding for the expenditure of public funds, the available records do not clarify whether these contracts were subjected to a competitive process.
As the agency continues to face public criticism regarding the deteriorating state of the nation’s federal roads, these substantial outlays for workshops and non-core consultancy services raise significant questions about the agency’s prioritization of resources and its adherence to fiscal prudence. There is no evidence currently linking these payments directly to the agency’s leadership or the Ministry of Works; however, the sheer volume of funds diverted toward training suggests a heavy administrative focus at a time when the agency’s primary objective—road maintenance—remains a persistent challenge for Nigerian motorists.
Source: NaijaProbe