Bisola Fatoye
President Muhammadu Buhari has given the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited his approval to invest N1.9 trillion in the rebuilding of 44 federal roads under the tax credit scheme with four months left in his presidency.
At the conclusion of yesterday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja, media assistant for media and publicity (Office of the Vice President) Laolu Akande disclosed that the approval was part of the Federal Government’s Phase 2 Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Policy, which will be carried out by NNPCL and its subsidiaries.
The Council approved the Ministry of Works and Housing’s request for the reconstruction of 44 proposed federal roads with a total length of 4,554 kilometers at a cost of N1.9 trillion, he added.
The decision comes 15 months after NNPCL showed interest in investing in the reconstruction of a few federal roadways to ensure a continuous flow of petroleum products throughout the federation.
The Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme was created on January 25, 2019, by Executive Order 007, which was signed by President Buhari. Its goal is to attract private sector investment for the nation’s vital road infrastructure.
In accordance with the program, the presidential order gave private firms the authority to finance the building or renovation of federal highways designated as “Eligible Roads” and to recover their costs by deducting those costs from their monthly Companies Income Tax.
The project is a public-private partnership (PPP) intervention that enables the Federal Government to utilize the resources and effectiveness of the private sector for the building and renovation of vital road infrastructure in significant economic regions of Nigeria.
The NNPC is building 1,804.6 kilometers of roads under the original program for a total of N621,237,143,897.35.
According to a breakdown of the funds, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, and Plateau states received the largest portion of N244.87 billion for the building of 791.1 kilometers of road.
The second greatest beneficiary was the South-South area, which includes the states of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers. This region received N172.02 billion for a total of 81.9 kilometers of road.
The Southwest, which includes the states of Ekiti, Lagos, Osun, Ondo, Ogun, and Oyo, came in second with a total of N81.87 billion allocated for the construction of 252.7 kilometers of roads.
The North East, which consists of the states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe, received N56.12 billion from the NNPCL for the project to build 273.35 kilometers of roads.
The Southeast geopolitical zone, which consists of five states (Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo), received N43.28 billion in funding for 122 kilometers of road construction or restoration.
For the rehabilitation of 283.5 kilometers of road in the Northwest geopolitical zone, which includes the states of Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa, and Zamfara, the national oil company has set aside N23.05 billion.
The NNPC is paying for the road projects, while the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIR) deducts the cost from the NNPCL’s tax responsibilities.
