The Nigerian government has directed that Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC) Tax Credit road contracts below N20 billion be awarded to local contractors.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, gave the directive during an inspection visit to the ongoing dualisation of the East-West Road (Section IIIA) from Eleme Junction, Port Harcourt, to Onne Junction in Rivers State on Tuesday.
In a statement published on the ministry’s website on Tuesday, Mr Umahi said the announcement was in line with Nigeria’s First Policy.
In May this year, President Bola Tinubu issued Nigeria’s First policy directive, aimed at prioritising locally made goods and services in all government procurement to boost local production and reduce reliance on imported items.
Mr Umahi directed federal controllers of works nationwide to enforce stricter supervision and warned that contracts below N20billion would no longer be awarded to expatriate firms.
The minister said that although NNPC had stopped direct funding of tax credit projects, Mr Tinubu ordered that ongoing projects must continue.
“To this end, the ministry has compiled and prioritised inherited projects, focusing on those along key economic corridors.”
Mr Umahi said the move aligns with the president’s directive that all inherited NNPC-funded projects must continue without interruption.
He said the ministry had compiled all projects inherited from NNPC and submitted them to the president.
The minister said that those along national economic corridors, such as the Eleme–Onne Road, would receive top priority.
“Mr President has graciously directed that none of such works should stop,” he said.
The works minister used the inspection visit to caution contractors against poor construction methods.
He pointed out the practice of laying binder courses without covering them with a wearing course for months, which weakens roads and accelerates failure.
Mr Umahi lauded Reynolds Construction Company for the quality of work on the Eleme–Onne project, but expressed disappointment with the slow pace, saying the rainfall was no excuse.
Background
On 1 August, NNPC halted funding for road projects under the Tax Credit Scheme.
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To prevent abandonment, Mr Umahi said in August that President Tinubu directed the ministry to explore alternative funding models.
The Federal Ministry of Works included in its Tuesday statement that it has adopted a funding prioritisation framework to ensure the continued execution of road projects.
A funding prioritisation framework is a structured system for evaluating projects, programmes, or initiatives to decide which ones receive limited funding based on defined criteria.