General
NNPC Gets Approval to Revamp 21 Roads With N621.2bn Tax Liabilities
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is set to deploy some of its tax liabilities to 21 road projects across the six geo-political zones following the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, after Wednesday’s virtual FEC meeting, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said that the NNPC tax deployment would not be a one-off payment but periodic and gave the projected commitment to the road projects as N621.2 billion.
The Minister said that the roads would cover a total distance of 1,804.6 kilometres, stating that there was an Executive Order 7, signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, allowing private sector operators to identify infrastructure such as roads for which they would deploy in advance the taxes that they should have paid.
“You recall that I had briefed you here about the use of that policy by the Dangote Group on the Obajana to Kabba and Apapa to Oworonshoki.
“Earlier this year, there were five other roads, the Kaduna Western Bye-pass, the Lekki Port Road, the road from Sagamu through Papalanto and a couple of others like that.
“So, today we have another player; we have other interested players who are showing interest but we haven’t concluded.
“But we have another player who has shown interest and committed to deploying taxes and it is the NNPC.
“So, NNPC has identified 21 roads that it wants to deploy some of its tax liabilities to,’’ he said.
The Minister said that the instructive thing about the initiative was that it would help the government to achieve many things, including Ministerial Mandates Three and Four, which were discussed at the recent retreat.
He said that the Ministerial Mandate Three was energy sufficiency in electric power and petroleum energy distribution across the country.
According to him, the petroleum energy distribution is being impacted positively and negatively by the transport infrastructure, which is the Ministerial Mandate Four.
“So, NNPC has sought and the council has approved today that NNPC deploys tax resources to 21 routes covering a total distance of 180.6km across the six geopolitical zones.
“Out of those 21 roads, nine are in the North-Central, particularly Niger State; and the reason is that Niger State is a major storage centre for NNPC,” he said.
He said that NNPC’s gesture would facilitate petroleum distribution across the country as Niger experiences gridlock every year.
Mr Fashola said that the Niger governor had been complaining that his roads were being damaged by trucks.
He said that drivers, after damaging the roads with their overloaded trucks, would turn round to protest against the damage they had caused.
“So, they are nine like that in the North-Central; three in the North-East, two in the North-West, two in the South-East, three routes- the entire Odukpani-Itu-Ikot-Ekpene road in lots one, two and three now, fully covered.
“Then, in the South-West, you have the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, the Agbara junction, and you also have Ibadan to Ilorin, the Oyo-Ogbomosho section.
“In the South-East, you have the Aba-Ikot-Ekpene in Abia and Akwa Ibom; so that is a major link; then you have Umuahia-Ikwuano-Ikot-Ekpene road again and so on so forth.
“So, in the North-West, it is Gadar Zaima-Zuru-Ganji road and also Zaria- Funtua-Gusau to Sokoto Road.
“In the North-East, it is the Cham-Numan, Bali-Serti and Gombe-Biu Roads.
“The road impacted in the North-Central, include Ilorin-Jeda-Mokwa-Bokani sections one and two; Suleja-Minna sections one and two.
“Bida-Lambata Agaie-katcha-Baro road and Mokwa-Makera-Tagina-Kaduna border in Niger State, Minna-Zungeru-Tegina road, and Bida-Minna road-all in Niger State; as I said, a total of 21 roads.”
The Minister said that the move by the NNPC would resolve the financing problems regarding the execution of the road projects.
He said, for instance, that the Aba-Iko-Ekpene road had an estimate of about N30.3 billion in it while the provision in the budget was N200 million.
“If you look at the Suleja-Minna road, Section 2, it has N25.76 billion to complete it; the provision in the budget this year, is just N100 million.
“So, with these interventions, all those roads will be fully funded; you don’t have budgetary challenges and financing challenges anymore.
“So, the council approved this as strategic funding for this road network.’’
Mr Fashola said that another memorandum related to the road was also presented to the council, with regard to a section of the Calabar-Ikom-Ogoja Road, the section linking Akpet Central.
He said there was a problem with the steel-reinforced drains on the road.
“Those drains were put there about 42 years ago and 86 of them have failed.
“We need to replace them now with concrete ring drains to allow water to flow; otherwise, the retention of water badly impacts the road.
“As a result of that, we had 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, over 75 km of the road network.
“That required an augmentation of the contract by an additional sum of N12 billion; that memo was approved,” he said.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Celebrated broadcaster with Arise TV, Mrs Ayo Mario-Ese, has charged women to be open to collaboration and not limit themselves.
The charming media personality was one of the panellists at the UBA Business Series themed Introducing Gen W – The Evolved Woman, held at the UBA House in Lagos last Thursday.
At the event moderated by popular actor, Mr Tobi Bakre, the Morning Show anchor on Arise TV expressed worry about females who are usually laidback about speaking up and sharing their achievements, and said that women need to own their stories.
“A lot of women are doing phenomenal work and are sometimes afraid of showcasing what they are doing. As an evolved woman, you have to find out what you are comfortable doing, create your own unique offering, and also be open to collaboration,” she submitted.
Another panellist, Ms Joycee Awosika, described an evolved woman as one who has awareness of who she is.
“That woman does not need to ask to sit at the table; she is creating her own table and adding value. As your company is growing, you must grow too, and always do an audit of where you need to become a better leader,” the energy economist stated.
For a digital entrepreneur, Ms Tomike Adeoye, the question of what a woman is bringing to the table has now become obsolete, as the evolved woman is now bringing their own table.
“She is now more vocal about their struggles, setting the standards, and she is not ready to give up on her dreams,” she declared.
For the founder of Fine-Funky, Ms Olufunke Davies, she remarked that, “Creating unique designs that are affordable remains my driving force and something that has helped me grow as an evolved woman.”
In her remarks, the Group Head for Brand, Marketing and Corporate Communications at UBA, Ms Alero Ladipo, said, “Raising each woman is actually not that hard, because everyone has their community as well as their story; and so as women, we need to take a position so that we can give to others.”
She said the Gen W platform of the lender is dedicated to the evolved woman, adding, “Through expert insights, real stories, and practical resources, the platform connects women who are building brands, creating businesses, growing careers, and leading across industries. They also have access to a plethora of discounted products and loans. The best part: it is open to every woman. No UBA account needed. This is Gen W, for the evolved woman.”
This edition of the UBA Business Series was hosted to mark International Women’s Month.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Navy has intensified its crackdown on crude oil theft and illegal bunkering, destroying a reactivated illegal refinery site in Rivers State and intercepting suspected stolen petroleum products in Calabar.
The Director of Naval Information, Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, revealing that personnel of the Nigerian Navy Ship SOROH, operating under Operation Delta Sentinel, destroyed a reactivated illegal refinery site at Okolomade Community in Abua-Odual Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State.
He said the action followed credible intelligence that a previously dismantled illegal refining site had resumed operations.
According to him, an Anti–Crude Oil Theft (Anti-COT) team deployed to the location discovered that the dismantled refining oven had been reconstructed.
“Further exploitation of the area led to the discovery of additional refining equipment and storage facilities containing about 3,000 litres of product suspected to be illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO),” he said.
Mr Folorunsho added that the illegal refining infrastructure—including ovens, storage tanks, hoses, connected pipes and newly acquired metal components used for illegal refining—was destroyed in line with operational procedures.
He said personnel of the Nigerian Navy Ship Victory, in another operation, intercepted about 3,950 litres of suspected stolen petroleum products at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) area in Calabar, Cross River.
He said the interception was based on credible intelligence on suspected siphoning of petroleum products from vessels berthed at the port.
The naval patrol team, according to him, swiftly deployed to the area and traced the illegally siphoned products to a trailer park within the port facility.
“On sighting the naval patrol team, the suspected perpetrators fled the scene, after which the area was cordoned off and the illegally siphoned products secured,” he said.
The official said further inspection led to the recovery of about 3,950 litres of Automotive Gas Oil stored in drums and jerrycans, which had been evacuated to the naval base for further necessary action in line with extant regulations.
He noted that the successes aligned with the directive of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Idi Abbas, to intensify operations against crude oil theft and other maritime crimes across Nigeria’s maritime domain.
The captain reiterated the Navy’s commitment to sustaining the operational tempo of Operation Delta Sentinel through intensified surveillance, patrols and intelligence-driven operations aimed at combating crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and other forms of economic sabotage.
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