FG Assures Implementation of Road Infrastructure Development, Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme on Course

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.

A statement issued by Hon. Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji, Special Adviser (Media) to the Honourable Minister of Works,  noted that 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) Mr. 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, he said 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’s about 40% funding, sometimes it’s 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.”