NNPC Presents N621bn Cheque to Nigerian Government for Critical Road Rehabilitation Projects

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited on Tuesday presented a symbolic cheque of N621bb to the ministry of works and housing for the construction of 21 selected roads across the country.

Recall, the Corporation in October had expressed interest to invest in the reconstruction of selected federal roads to sustain a smooth supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country.

The road construction project which is being executed under the tax credit scheme is funded through the Federal Inland Revenue Service following Mr President Muhammadu Buhari’s executive order 7.

Under the programme, the NNPC will construct a total of 1,804.6 kilometres of roads at a total cost of N621, 237,143,897.35.

A breakdown of the project funding showed that the North-Central geo-political zone got the highest chunk of N244.87bn for the construction of 791.1 kilometres of roads.

The North-Central is made up of Benue, Federal Capital Territory, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, and Plateau State.

The South-South geo-political zone emerged as the second-highest beneficiary of the NNPC Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment project with the sum of N172.02bn for a total of 81.9 kilometres of road.

The zone is made up of Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross-River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers state.

The South-West followed with a total allocation of N81.87bn for the construction of 252.7 kilometres of roads.

The region is made up of Ekiti, Lagos, Osun, Ondo, Ogun, and Oyo State.

Similarly, the NNPC allocated the sum of N56.12bn to the North-East for the construction of 273.35 kilometres of roads under the scheme.

The states expected to be covered under these zones are Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe.

For the South-East geo-political zone, the sum of N43.28bn was earmarked for the construction/rehabilitation of 122 kilometres of road.

The zone is made up of five states and they are Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo.

Further breakdown of the NNPC schedule showed that the North-West geo-political zone which is made up of Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa, and Zamfara got the least allocation.

The zone was allocated the sum of N23.05bn for the rehabilitation of 283.5 kilometres of road.

Speaking at the presentation of the symbolic cheque, the Chief Financial Officer of the NNPC, Umar Ajiya, explained that the condition of the road networks in the country is affecting businesses, especially transportation of petroleum products across the country.

According to him, the tax credit scheme presents a good platform to support the rehabilitation of major infrastructural projects.

He said, “The condition of our roads currently affect our business and the energy security of Nigeria.

“Most of our pipelines have been vandalised through the years and sometimes, we find it difficult for our tanker drivers to convey products across the country.

“So we consider the tax credit scheme a very important way to fund these projects, we are working on 21 roads and we are ready to fund the N621bn.

Mohammed Nami, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service said that the investment is a result of Executive order 007 of 2019, which use companies tax to fix critical infrastructure.

This tax credit, according to him is issued after confirmation is done that monies that ordinarily should be invested are invested.

He said, “The importance of this scheme cannot be overemphasized because the budgetary allocation for the roads are not only minimal but also insufficient.

“Under the tax credit scheme, companies are allowed to invest in road construction, infrastructural projects in exchange of tax credit certificate we are issuing to them.

“The construction of these roads will ensure that goods are moved from a part of the country to another, as we bridge the infrastructural gap in the country.”

In his remark, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola commended the effort of the NNPC while urging companies to take advantage of the tax credit scheme to bridge the infrastructural gaps in the country.

“We are now seeing companies that are showing interest in the scheme, and we hope this will help in developing our infrastructure.

“With this presentation today, contractors will have the confidence to work, knowing that they will be paid,” he added.

The Minister speaking further, clarified that the NNPC was not taking over road projects but ‘putting forth its tax to be used for road construction.