Here is the full list of roads already taken over by the NNPC for reconstruction with full approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC)
The reconstruction of 21 Nigerian roads taken over by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is to gulp a whooping N621.2 billion, Platforms Africa reports.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has already approved the takeover of the 21 federal roads by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for reconstruction.
Platforms Africa reports that the approval was given at the council meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the presidential villa, Abuja on Wednesday.
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Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who disclosed this while briefing correspondents at the end of the meeting, said the roads totalling 1804.6 kilometres, are spread across the six geopolitical zones of the country.
He explained that it was a strategic intervention under the Federal Government Road Infrastructure and Refreshment Tax Credit Scheme.
According to him, it came under Executive Order 7 that allows the private sector to deploy in advance the taxes they would pay for infrastructure development.
He said nine of the selected projects are in North Central, three in North East, two in North West, two in South-East, three in South-South, and two in South West.
Fashola said he presented three memoranda to the Council that were approved, explaining that two of the memoranda were on road contracts.
He said the first memorandum had to do with a section of Calabar-Ikom-Ogoja road especially the section to Apet Central where he said had a problem with steel reinforced drain that was discovered there.
The minister explained: “Those drains were put there, about 42 years ago and 86 of them have failed and we need to replace them now with concrete rain drains to allow water to pass through otherwise the retention of water will badly impact the road.
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“As a result of that, we have to revise the scope of works from rehabilitation to construction in order to remove all the old steel drains that are corroded and replace them with concrete drains.
“It is over 75 kilometres road and that will require an augmentation contract by an additional sum of N12 billion. So that memo was approved.
“The second memorandum relates to the road infrastructure tax credit scheme. You recall Executive Order seven signed by Mr President allowing private sector operators to identify infrastructure such as roads for which you deploy your taxes in advance with tax and pay.
“So, you recall that I had briefed you here about the use of that policy like the Dangote Group from Obajana to Kabba, Apapa to Oworoshoki.
“Earlier this year, there were five other roads, the Kaduna Western bypass, the Lekki Port road, the road from Shagamu through Papalanto and a couple of others and there is one road in Maiduguri. That was approved about N320 something billion.
“So today, we have another player. We have all the interested players who are still showing interest but we haven’t concluded. We have another player who has shown interest and commitment to deploy taxes.
“It’s the government corporation known as NNPC. So, NNPC has identified 21 roads that it wants to deploy. So, now the instructive thing about this is that this initiative helps the government to achieve many things, including Ministerial Mandates Three and Four, which we discussed at the last retreat if you recall was energy sufficiency, electric power and petroleum energy distribution across the country.
“Of course, the petroleum energy distribution is being impacted positively and negatively, as the case may be, the transport infrastructure, which is the Ministerial mandate four.
“So, NNPC has sought and the council has approved today that NNPC deployed tax resources to 21 roads covering the total distance of 1,804.6 kilometres across the six geopolitical zones.
“Out of those 21 roads, nine are in North Central, particularly Niger state. And the reason is that Niger State is a major storage centre for NNPC. So, the reason NNPC is doing this is to facilitate the total distribution across the country.
“We have seen and have heard every year Niger State gridlock, the governor complaining that his roads are being damaged by trucks, by those who overload the trucks after damaging the roads themselves now protest the damage that they sometimes have induced. Anyway, this is the final solution to that problem.”
