President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a N1.9 trillion investment by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited under the tax credit scheme, four months before the conclusion of his term.
Laolu Akande, Media Assistant, Media and Publicity (Office of the Vice President),
disclosed the approval at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC)
meeting in Abuja yesterday, saying it fell under the Federal Government Road
Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Policy Phase 2 to be carried out by NNPCL and its subsidiaries.
The decision comes 15 months after NNPCL showed interest in investing in the
rehabilitation of selected federal roadways to ensure the uninterrupted supply and
distribution of petroleum products throughout the federation.
On January 25, 2019, President Buhari issued Executive Order 007, establishing the
Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme, to attract private-sector finance for vital road infrastructure in the country.
The presidential order authorized private enterprises to finance the construction or
rehabilitation of federal highways classified as “Eligible Roads” under the system and
recuperate their investments through a reduction from their monthly Corporation Income Tax.
The initiative is a public-private partnership (PPP) intervention that allows the Federal Government to harness the private sector’s money and efficiency for the building and rehabilitation of important road infrastructure in Nigeria’s main economic sectors.
The NNPC is constructing 1,804.6 kilometers of roads under the initial program at a cost of N621,237,143,897.35.
According to a breakdown of the funds, the North Central geopolitical zone, which
includes the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, and Plateau states, received the largest share of N244.87 billion for the building of 791.1 kilometers of road.
The South-South region, which includes Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo,
and Rivers states, came in second with 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 budget of N81.87 billion for the construction of 252.7 kilometers of roads.
Under the project, the NNPCL granted N56.12 billion to Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno,
Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe states for the construction of 273.35 kilometers of roads.
The Southeast geopolitical zone, which includes Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and
Imo, received N43.28 billion for the construction/rehabilitation of 122 kilometers of road.
The national oil corporation allotted N23.05 billion for road reconstruction in the
Northwest geopolitical zone, which includes Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto,
Jigawa, and Zamfara states.
The road developments are sponsored by NNPC, and the cost is deducted from the
NNPCL’s tax obligations by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIR).
