The Federal Government requires ₦3 trillion to complete road projects awarded under the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) tax credit scheme.
This was disclosed by Works Minister David Umahi in Abuja while briefing newsmen.
He said that following the NNPCL’s decision to halt funding from Aug. 1, President Bola Tinubu directed the ministry to explore alternative sources of financing to ensure no project is abandoned.
“Our President is a man with a large heart. Despite the funding stoppage by NNPCL, Mr President, as Chairman of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), directed that alternative funding mechanisms be put in place to ensure completion of all projects,” Umahi said.
He noted that the ministry has compiled a list of all affected projects and will present them to the President for consideration under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) where applicable, especially for contractors with capacity and funding.
“We are going to prepare a memo to the President on that,” he said.
Umahi also said that work has begun on the Benin-Warri and Benin-Asaba roads to the first Niger Bridge, the Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta road and the Bayelsa and Delta axis have been
He added that in the North Central, the Koton Karfe and the Keffi bridges and the Katsina-Ala road project through Benue have also been approved for execution.
Umahi said the Kabba-Ekiti road was also ongoing, as well as the Benin bypass road in the South-South.
He said that there were a lot of emergency projects in the Northeast, in the Gombe-Bauchi-Azare area and the long stretch from Kano to Maiduguri.
Other ongoing projects, he said, are the Bauchi to Jigawa, Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi, Gombe-Bauchi, Kwara-Jebba, and Mokwa roads.
The Minister of State for Works, Malam Bello Goronyo, commended President Tinubu for his unwavering commitment to road infrastructure.
Goronyo said, “This is a president that has shown an uncommon commitment to fixing our roads that were neglected hitherto for more than 45 to 47 years.
“I want to say that we can never have it better than this time when the roads are being maintained and reconstructed, and this is something that each and every one of us can feel, see, and touch.”
Goronyo commended the media for showcasing the work of the ministry and urged them to always verify information before going to press to avoid fallacy.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works, Mr Olufunsho Adebiyi, said the claim of marginalisation in road projects was not true, as there were many factors that determined the cost of fixing a one-kilometre road.
“So what you need to fix a one-kilometre road in Bayelsa may do up to 10 in Katsina. Why? Because of the terrain, the water table, the nearness to the materials required and so many things required.
Adebiyi said the knowledge would help Nigerians understand the dynamics of road projects. (NAN)
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