The Federal Executive Council has approved the awarding of a contract to Dangote Industries for the construction of five roads totaling 274.9 kilometers at a cost of N309.9 billion, which will be paid to the company as a tax credit.

This was stated by Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Works and Housing, while briefing state house correspondents at the conclusion of the FEC meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday.

The road contract, which was the second approved by the council for the ministry, will be built on concrete and will be the largest of its kind in the country, according to Fashola.

“The ministry’s second memorandum was for the construction or reconstruction, as the case may be, of five road projects in Dangote Industries Limited’s favor, totaling 274.9 kilometers of federal roads, under the Federal Government Roads Infrastructure Tax Credit policy,” he said.

“The Dangote Industries will advance N309,917,717,251.35 as a tax credit for those five roads, totaling 274.9 kilometers.

“The roads are Bama to Banki in Borno State for N51.016 billion and 49.153 kilometers; Dikwa to Gamboru-Ngala in Borno State for N55.504 billion and 49.577 kilometers; and the Nnamdi Azikiwe Road, popularly known as Western Bypass in Kaduna for N55.504 billion. 21.477 kilometers between Command Junction and Kawu, costing N37.560 billion

“Others include the N85.838 billion deep seaport access road sections 1 and 3 in Lagos State, through Epe to Shagamu Expressway, 54.24 kilometers that connects Lagos and Ogun states, and the N79.996 billion Obele/Ilaro/Papalanto to Shagamu Road, 100 kilometers in Ogun State.

“This memorandum was considered and approved by Council to assist in the construction of 274 kilometers of concrete roads. As a result, this will be the largest single award of concrete roads ever made by the Nigerian government.”

The award of the contract to Dangote Group, according to Fashola, was in line with funding options.

“First and foremost, the award is consistent with our multiple funding options, which include private sector engagement,” he said.

“Secondly, the tax credit initiative existed prior to this administration but was not used. As a result, this administration has revised it, expanded it, and used it to build roads such as the Apapa Wharf Road, the Oworonsoki to Apapa, through Oshodi Road, all built by the same Dangote Group.”
“The Dangote Group still owns the Obajana-Kabba Road. The NLNG approved the Bodo-Bonny bridges and road, which Council approved last week.

“Many other companies that are being evaluated expressed interest as well. As a result, it isn’t unique to Dangote. So he’s the one who applied, and we’ve been going through this. So this is the next set of roads they’ll be working on.

“They invest their money and then net it off instead of paying their taxes when they are due. That is the situation. This isn’t concessioning; it’s tax credit policy; don’t confuse the two.

“According to the policy, anyone who wants to invest personal resources, including individuals, in any infrastructure that the general public will have access to can do so under certain conditions, including applying to the Ministry of Works.

“The ministry evaluates, and the Minister of Finance chairs a tax credit committee because they keep track of how much tax relief is given out in a given year so that the government’s revenue performance isn’t harmed once the investment is made.

“So, the committee approves and says, ‘Go ahead, this is good, this is how much tax we’ll allow per year,’ and if the company is satisfied, we go to BPP and then FEC.”

The works ministry also received approval to revise the contract total cost for the construction of Michael Imoudu/Ganmo/Afon Junction Road in Ilorin, Kwara State.

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“According to the policy, anyone who wants to invest personal resources, including individuals, in any infrastructure that the general public will have access to can do so under certain conditions, including applying to the Ministry of Works.

“The ministry evaluates, and the Minister of Finance chairs a tax credit committee because they keep track of how much tax relief is given out in a given year so that the government’s revenue performance isn’t harmed once the investment is made.

“So, the committee approves and says, ‘Go ahead, this is good, this is how much tax we’ll allow per year,’ and if the company is satisfied, we go to BPP and then FEC.”

The works ministry also received approval to revise the contract total cost for the construction of Michael Imoudu/Ganmo/Afon Junction Road in Ilorin, Kwara State.

The Nigerian Navy’s ongoing recruitment exercise is unfair and in violation of the Constitution’s federal character principle, according to the House of Representatives, which has asked the military agency to halt the process.

This came after a report revealed that the Navy’s supplementary list of successful candidates, which was recently released, only included northerners.

The newspaper obtained a list of candidates from the core northern states, with only a few from North Central (Kogi and Niger states).
“Normally, after recruitment, they release a list, and those on that list are sent to training; the list is divided into two batches, A and B.

“They recently released a supplementary list. All 44 candidates on that list will be from the North, which has never happened before. They are primarily from the core North, not just the north.

“Normally, every state is given an equal number of slots on the recruitment list, but I’m not sure why this isn’t the case here. Batch A of the supplementary list has resumed, while Batch B will resume in January. These are the select few who will join those who have already arrived. Every zone and state should be included as far as it is supplementary.

“In the previous ones, they included all states in equal numbers except the Federal Capital Territory (FCT); the FCT is the only one that usually gets fewer slots because the majority of those who apply through the FCT are not from there.”

“My question is why is only the North represented on this supplementary list? It should represent the entire country, not just a specific region,” says the author.
The lower chamber unanimously adopted a motion of urgent public importance on Wednesday, calling for an investigation into the Nigerian Navy Supplementary Recruitment of 44 candidates “for being contrary to the principle of federal character and in gross violation of Section 14 of the 1999 Constitution.”

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The Navy was also asked by the House to provide details on all recruitments from 2014 to date, as well as their geographic distribution.

It also ordered the Committee on Navy to “investigate the exercise and recommend appropriate measures to avoid similar constitutional violations in all future government recruitment, and report back within 12 weeks for further legislative action,” according to the bill.

All of the successful candidates who are to report for training in two batches at the Nigerian Navy Basic Training School Onne, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, according to the motion’s sponsor, Ben Igbakpa, “are all from a particular part of the country,” negating the federal character principle of all-inclusiveness, equity, and fair play.

“The House is concerned that the principle appears to have been observed more in breach in practice,” Igbakpa said. Appointments and recruitment into various ministries, departments, and agencies at the federal and state levels appear to be treated as a matter of political discretion by successive administrations, and those with appointment and recruitment powers do not feel a legal obligation to ensure an equitable distribution of appointments and recruitment into the various government bodies.

“The House is also concerned that since the publication of the Supplementary list of 44 candidates, there has been a lot of tension, apprehension, and discussion among the young and old from the deprived section.

“The House believes that proper observance and application of the federal character principle will, in no small part, allay ethnic minorities’ fears of dominance and denial, and will invariably foster national unity.”

On Wednesday, Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) unveiled an electronic Mobile Application for reporting economic crimes.
He said this in Abuja, shortly after launching the ‘Eagle Eye’ app, while fielding questions from journalists.

He urged Nigerians not to be afraid to expose corrupt individuals, particularly those who launder money through real estate.
“As you can see, anyone who is malicious or uses the App with malicious intent will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

“We understand there is a lot of secrecy there, and you can report something without mentioning your name,” he explained.

Bawa described the App, which is the first of its kind by any Nigerian law enforcement agency, as the result of the Commission’s staff’s ingenuity.

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The EFCC conceived, designed, and developed the app, he said, adding that it would make reporting economic and financial crimes easier.

According to him, the initiative is a clear demonstration of his promise, made upon taking office, to lead a technology-driven agency.

“The Eagle Eye represents a new experience in information sharing and crime reporting between the general public and the EFCC,” he continued.

Apart from complementing existing channels for reporting economic crimes, the EFCC Chairman explained that the unique advantage of this application is that it eliminates direct person-to-person interface in the reporting process and ensures anonymity, which is an added incentive to effective whistleblowing.

“Those who were previously afraid to report corruption cases to the Commission either for fear of being identified by the culprits or having their identities revealed, can now do so with the assurance of full anonymity,” Bawa said, appealing to members of the public to use the App to bring cases of corruption and economic crimes to the attention of the EFCC.