UMAHI RESTATES FG'S COMMITMENT TO ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, REFURBISHMENT OF TAX CREDIT SCHEME

"We are happy that this NNPCL project will be completed. We have agreed on the private Tax Credit and he has also given a blessing that it should not be expanded beyond the last seven projects that were initiated by the last administration and that we should go ahead to review the likes of Dangote, BUA, MTN and then close it." Senator David Umahi

The Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency Sen Engr Nweze David Umahi CON has restated the commitment of the Federal Government in the implementation of the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit (Tax Credit) Scheme. 

The Honourable Minister made this clarification in a Press briefing after a meeting he had with the Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue, (FIRS) Mr. Zacch Adedeji, FCA and the Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, represented by the Chief Financial Officer, Umar Isa Ajiya in his office on 16th February 2024.

Speaking to Press men, the Hon. Minister said that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR has not only said that the implementation of the Tax Credit Scheme should continue, including private, NNPC and NLNG, but has also approved the review of the projects under the Scheme due to inflation. 

The Minister said that the statement of the Chairman of FIRS that the project would be completed but would not be expanded was misconstrued by some media quarters as saying that the projects under the Scheme would be stopped.  

He further reiterated that the Scheme is highly beneficial and that the implementation framework is encapsulated in the Executive Order No. 007 of 2019 of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Part of their agreement was that "all the NNPC projects on road infrastructure as started, should not be expanded, but should continue to the tune of N2.59 trillion. It was also agreed at the beginning of this Executive Order, and it was very clear that the N2.59 trillion was not the total cost of the project. Sometimes it is about 40% funding, sometimes it is about 50% funding. So, ab initio, the cost of the project up to completion was not N2.59 trillion. Now, we have scoped the entire project and then put a review on it, and the funding gap is N2.7 trillion."

"We agreed that three of us would make a joint memo to Mr. President to suggest that the N2.7 trillion funding gap be channeled to the National Assembly for approval and then the method upon which we get the money."

While thanking the Chairman of FIRS and the GCEO NNPCL for their commitment to the Scheme, he noted some of the challenges they discussed such as the problem  of methodology for programme implementation and their resolve to adopt a more robust  approach to solve the problem. He also said that part of their resolution was that non-performing contracts shall be terminated.

 He said "contractors should go back to site and we are going to unequivocally terminate contracts that are not performing in the coming weeks and this we will do definitely and we are going to encourage even the local contractors especially those who can do concrete roads to come forward and register and we patronize them."

While commending FIRS for the funding, he further expressed, "We are happy that this NNPCL project will be completed, we have agreed on the private Tax Credit and he has also given a blessing that it should not be expanded beyond the last seven projects that were initiated by the last administration and that we should go ahead to review the likes of Dangote,  BUA, MTN and then close it."

This was the disclosure of a statement issued and signed by Hon. Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji, Special Adviser on Media to the Honourable Minister for Works.