The federal government is turning to Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) to complete critical road infrastructure projects worth over N3 trillion following the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) withdrawal from the tax-credit funding scheme.
Minister of works, David Umahi, disclosed the development during a media briefing in Abuja. He said President Bola Tinubu, had directed the ministry to explore alternative funding channels to ensure that ongoing road projects are not abandoned.
“The federal government requires N3 trillion to complete road projects awarded under the NNPCL tax credit scheme,” Umahi said.
Umahi cited the 43.6-kilometre Maraba–Keffi dual carriageway as one of the affected projects. It will now be executed in phases using the remaining N76 billion from NNPCL.
Permanent secretary of the ministry, Olufunso Adebiyi, clarified that construction costs differ across regions due to geography, terrain, and material availability, making direct kilometre-based comparisons misleading.
The NNPCL tax-credit initiative had previously enabled strategic funding of road projects in exchange for tax rebates. Its suspension now poses major risks to Nigeria’s infrastructure agenda unless private investment is urgently secured
