FG Refunds States N860bn For Road Construction
The Federal Government has refunded N859.7bn to various state governments as reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenditures incurred in constructing federal roads over eight years.
This was disclosed in a fact sheet highlighting achievements of the Buhari administration shared by the Presidency recently.
Due to reports that state governments inflate the cost of repair works carried out on federal roads, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, directed states to desist from such interventions as the Federal Government would not offset such expenses.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, had said, “Henceforth, if any state takes on federal government roads, it will not be paid. They will not get any refund. Even if you want to pay from your own pocket, you will still need the permission of the federal government and it will be supervised by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.
Also, on Wednesday at the inauguration of the Rumuokwuta/Rumuola Flyover, the River State Governor, Nyesom Wike, pleaded for refunds of funds spent to construct federal roads in the state totalling N80bn.
The request was rebuffed by the President- Elect, Bola Tinubu, noting that he owed him nothing as the constructed roads were being used by the state governor and the people of the state.
Despite the directive not to intervene in federal roads in their domain, the Federal Government has continued to make payments to state governments.
A refund of N148bn was given to five states for the reconstruction of some federal roads in 2020.
In 2021, the Federal Government refunded N143bn to five states that constructed federal roads.
In 2022, N477bn was paid to 24 states as refunds for the construction and rehabilitation of federal roads.
Already in 2023, the Federal Executive Council approved N152.6bn to be paid to seven states for road projects executed on behalf of the federal government.
Meanwhile, in light of recent revelations, more states have continued to demand reimbursement.
The Ekiti State Commissioner for Finance, Akin Oyebode, said on Thursday that the state government had spent about N11bn on the construction of some federal roads in the state.
Oyebode, who listed the roads to include the Ado-Iyin Road and the Omuo-Isinbode Road, said that the Federal Government had been giving the impression that it would no longer refund states for the construction of federal roads.
The commissioner said, “But they (FG) are being quite selective about this thing. The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said that the government has stopped all refunds to states and that any state that works on any federal road does it at its own cost.
