Abuja – The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved 2018 draft budget proposal, Road Trust Fund (RTF) and the construction of 14-kilometre 330KVA transmission line to evacuate power from Azura power plant in Edo State.
These were the decisions taken by the council at its meeting held on Thursday in Abuja.
Udoma Udo Udoma, Minister of Budget and National Planning, disclosed this when he briefed State House correspondents alongside the Ministers of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola and that of Finance, Kemi Adeosun.
Udoma, who declined to disclose the actual figure of the approved 2018 draft budget, said that President Muhammadu Buhari would soon forward the document to the National Assembly for final approval.
“FEC today approved a draft 2018 budget proposal, we will be liaising with the National Assembly to agree on the date in which the president will formally submit the budget to them.?
“It is the president’s prerogative to submit the budget, submit the proposals and give you the details. The constitution gives that authority to the president.
“We are liaising with National Assembly leadership because they have to agree on a date that the president will come and address them and submit the budget proposal,” he stated.
FEC Approves N796.6m For Azura Power Project
FEC also approved the contract for the construction of 14-kilometre 330KVA transmission line.
The project which will be handled by the Transmission Company of Nigeria is intended to evacuate power from Azura plant in Edo State when it becomes ready in May 2018.
The contract was awarded at a cost of N796.6 million with a completion time frame of seven months.
FEC also approved a memo for the establishment of Road Trust Fund.
Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Finance, made the disclosure in Abuja, explaining that under the initiative, companies will be allowed to recover 100 percent of costs incurred on road infrastructure as a tax credit against total tax payable (including up to 10 percent for cost of funds).
Adeosun further noted that the tax relief would allow for cost recovery within a single year instead of three years for economically disadvantaged areas.
When completed, the minister said the roads would be handed over to the Federal Government that may decide to toll the roads in accordance with the National Tolling Policy.
She explained that the role of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, would be to take responsibility for approving the road designs, monitoring all approved Road Trust Fund projects by managing costs and timelines as well as ensuring equal development across Nigeria by rebalancing the federal budget, where necessary.
She added that all costs and contractors would be scrutinised and approved by the Bureau of Public Procurement in line with legal requirements.
“This will ensure that costs are not inflated and that unqualified contractors are not used on the projects,” she stated.
“The Road Trust Fund (RTF) is being set up to facilitate and incentivise private sector involvement in the provision of Nigeria’s federal road infrastructure. It is a form of public private partnership that will accelerate the provision of federal roads by allowing private sector operators to collectively fund road provision in exchange for tax credits.
“What is unique about the scheme is that it is building on an existing scheme that avails tax credit, but it is one company per road and we have found that only two companies have been able to take advantage of it.
“The tax will be recovered over a three-year period. We expect this to mobilise significant capital into road provision across the country. The Ministry of Works will be approving the design and the cost of those roads. The Bureau of Public Procurement will also provide certificates of no objection to make sure that the cost are reasonable, Ministry of Works will supervise.
“What we expect is significant road delivery especially in areas for example industrial clusters affected by very bad roads. They can get together, do the road and recover their money through the tax credit system.
“We expect the impact on revenues to be neutral because we are tightening our tax code but we still put in a limit that no company can apply and use more than 50 percent of the tax within a year for this scheme.
“A company doesn’t have to be active in that area, so a bank, oil company, service company could get involved. We are really trying to widen the pool of funds for road construction”.
Maina: Buhari, At FEC Meeting, Silent On HOSF Report
Meanwhile, just when Nigerians were expecting President Muhammadu Buhari to wield the big stick over controversies relating to the sacked Abdulrasheed Maina, a former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, he has maintained silence on the issue, even after acknowledging receipt of the report submitted by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita.
Maina was sacked from the civil service in 2013 over corruption.
He was accused of being involved in pension fraud running into over N100 billion.
He was believed to have subsequently fled the country to escape arrest.
In 2015, he was placed on the wanted list of International Police (INTERPOL) by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Four years later, he was said to have been secretly reinstated into the civil service, with promotion, despite being wanted for alleged corruption.
At the Federal Executive Council meeting which he presided over for almost five hours, Abdulrahman Dambazzau, Minister of Interior, one of those regarded as an accomplice in the reinstatement of Maina was conspicuously absent.
But the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita and Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, were present.
Buhari while announcing Maina’s sack had directed the Head of Civil Service to furnish his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, with full report of the circumstances of Maina’s recall and posting to the Ministry of Interior.
The HOSF subsequently submitted the report to the presidency before the close of work on Monday beating the deadline.
Even after the FEC meeting, Ministers of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola; Finance, Kemi Adeosun; Information and Culture, Lai Muhammed; Minister of Budget and National Planning; Udoma Udo Udoma, all kept mum on the issue while briefing State House reporters.
The reinstatement of Maina recently generated wide condemnation and criticisms on the Federal Government, prompting an apology by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Source- The Independent
