Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has signed the Executive Order 007 of 2019 focusing on Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme.
Its pilot scheme is targeting 19 critical roads across 11 states of the federation.
The order, signed at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, is also expected to open up opportunities for investors to finance infrastructure development, especially roads infrastructures with tax credit incentives.
Buhari, at the occasion, lamented inability of the Federal Government to invest in critical infrastructures due to paucity of funds.
But he said the N100b Sukuk fund has been successfully deployed to the construction of 25 critical roads.
He said that 19 roads are to be undertaken by the six firms who are expected to recover their costs through tax rebates.
The President appealed to investors to submit proposals for the roads to enable government cover the entire 36 states.
Buhari announced the federal government has set up a management Committee headed by the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed with Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola as Vice Chairman.
He charged the Minister of Finance to promptly inaugurate the management committee so that they can begin to discharge their duties in a transparent way.
Among the states to benefit from the initial projects include Borno, Kaduna, Benue, Kogi, Abia, Ogun, Lagos, Rivers and Edo states.
The Minister of Finance appealed to investors to take advantage of the initiative to improve road infrastructure in Nigeria.
She disclosed that investors will only be eligible to recover the cost after it has been properly verified and approved, based on set parameters.
Executive Orders signed by the President have full legal effects and are described as “a rule of order issued by the President to the executive branch of government and having the force of law.”
Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, while applauding the initiative, said his firm has already flagged off the construction of the Apapa/ Oshodi road as part of the initiative.
According to him: “The President has taken a bold step to change the PPP narratives in Nigeria, as government is expected to free revenue for other public project expenditures.”
Buhari appealed for the immediate gazetting of the programme to expedite action to commence the construction of the affected roads.
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