David Umahi, minister of works, says road projects below N20
billion will henceforth be handled by local contractors.
The minister detailed that the policy is in keeping with the
federal government’s ‘Nigeria First’ policy while ensuring greater local
participation in infrastructure projects.
Umahi spoke during an inspection of the East-West road
dualisation (Section IIIA), from Eleme Junction to Onne Junction in Rivers
state, on September 9, 2025.
“Going forward, in keeping with the ‘Nigeria First’ policy
of the federal government, all projects that are below N20 billion will be
handled by indigenous contractors,” he said.
“This is to give them the opportunity for fair competition
in the works industry but generally, road constructions are capital intensive,
many of them are usually above N20 billion, so any one of such that is below
N20 billion will be handled by indigenous contractors.
“That doesn’t mean that they won’t compete for the ones
above N20 billion. For this, both indigenous contractors and expatriates can
compete for that.”
Speaking on the development, Orji Uchenna, the minister’s special adviser on media, said the initiative is aimed at fortifying the ‘Nigeria First’ agenda.
He clarified that indigenous contractors are still eligible
to compete for contracts exceeding N20 billion.
“The initiative aims to prioritise indigenous firms for
contracts below the N20 billion threshold. However, this does not exclude them
from bidding for contracts above that amount,” Uchenna explained.
The announcement coincided with the ministry’s adoption of a
funding prioritisation framework aimed at sustaining critical road projects
initially financed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC)
under the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax
Credit Scheme.
Umahi explained that the framework aligns with President
Bola Tinubu’s directive that all inherited NNPC-funded projects must continue
without interruption.
He said the ministry has compiled a comprehensive list of
these projects and submitted same to the president, prioritising those along
key national economic corridors such as the Eleme–Onne road.
“Mr President has graciously directed that none of such
works should stop,” Umahi said.
“We are going to prioritise the most critical projects and push them forward for immediate funding.”
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