FEC approves N3.94tn for roads, vessels, others

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The Federal Government on Monday approved a combined N3.94tn for 25 road projects and other tasks across 10 states, and a further N286bn for the procurement of pollution control, pilot-transfer and firefighting vessels for Nigeria’s port system.

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The approvals followed the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja. It was the first meeting in approximately three months since the council last sat on March 4, 2026, when Tinubu swore in the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu.

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Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, said the council ratified a series of approvals alongside fresh decisions spanning road construction, rehabilitation, dualisation and concession arrangements.

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Umahi disclosed that the council approved the full business case for the operation and maintenance of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in favour of MESSRS Aspect Concession Company Limited under the modified Switch Challenge approach. He revealed that he complained to the council about a deepening crisis on the completed sections of the road that prompted President Tinubu to approve a full reconstruction using reinforced concrete.

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“Let me also report that I informed FEC about the deteriorating situation on the completed Lagos-Ibadan expressway, especially on the section that was completed by Julius Berger. The Ibadan axis is failing very badly. If you go there, it is rotting, and it’s just folding; it is very dangerous for vehicular movement.

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“Mr President directed that we should use due process to procure the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, which is to be done using concrete technology,” he said.

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Umahi announced the rescoping and award of the 400.9km Mokwa-Tegina-Bida-Lambata access road in Niger State, which amounted to approximately 801.8km of carriageway, to the Dangote Group under the tax credit scheme, at a contract sum of N1.8325tn.

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The minister said the decision followed the failure of the previous contractor, CGC, to deliver on the corridor, which had become notorious for fatal accidents.

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He explained, “The project was awarded to CGC far back in 2022, where you have, in some cases, trucks falling down where people were coming to scoop fuel. We lost a lot of people there. We put things together with the Minister of Information and approached Mr President, and he said we should allow Dangote, who also has a major investment along that corridor, to do it.

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“So we rescoped the project from CGC and made available a total of 400.9km of the road. The total that is approved under the Dangote tax credit is N1.8325tn.”

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He also announced the completion of the first lot of the Lagos-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road, 118km worth N257bn, under the current administration, and said the remaining 164km in reinforced concrete pavement was ongoing and would be completed by November.

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The council also approved 23 road projects in the states of Adamawa, Taraba, Ebonyi, Kwara, Cross River, Kogi, Lagos, Niger, Oyo and Plateau at a combined cost of N2.078tn, Umahi revealed.

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Among the approvals were the dualisation of the Ilorin-Ogbomosho dual carriageway at N276bn in favour of SKCC; the Oyo Old Alignment-Oyoto-Ijawaya road at N217bn in favour of HMF Nigeria Limited; the reconstruction of the Iseyi-Ipapo Agebesi Road covering Oyo and Kwara states at N265bn; the construction of the Abakaliki-Afikpo Road in Ebonyi State at N116bn in favour of SKCC; the Enugu-Abakaliki Road reconstruction with flyover at N86bn; and the Adiku-Ajeyo-Obudu Road in Benue and Cross River states at N86bn.

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Other approvals included the Ogbomosho-Oko-Ilobu road across Oyo and Osun states at N110bn in favour of Halix Matrix; the rehabilitation of Ilorin-Omuaran-Egbe-Obajana Road in Kwara and Kogi states at N104bn; the Jimeta-Mayoni-Mayo-Beleworu Road in Adamawa at N83bn in favour of Triacta; the Tungo-Karamati road with five bridges on the Adamawa-Taraba border at N62.99bn in favour of Wizchina Worldwide; rehabilitation of the Igbeti-Igor Road in Oyo at N82bn; construction of the Igo-Soro-Kishi road in Oyo at N74bn in favour of CBC; the Daban-Manki road in Niger State at N78bn; and the Babanlamba-Sharam Phase Two road in Plateau State at N92.92bn in favour of Decency Associates, among others.

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Two smaller approvals were also ratified, he revealed. They include a N15bn augmentation for the Gogaram-Guri road in Yobe State, originally awarded in 2022 at N40bn over 32.2km, to reflect increases in construction material costs; and N15.246bn for phase two of the Yola-Fufore-Gurin road in favour of Wizchina Worldwide, covering the remaining 20 kilometres after the completion of phase one.

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Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, said the council approved four separate memos for the procurement of specialised maritime vessels totalling N286bn.

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He said two anti-pollution boats for Port Harcourt were approved at a cost of N59.052bn to address the growing problem of plastic and industrial pollution in Nigeria’s waterways.

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“One of the biggest issues confronting the globe is the issue of plastic pollution in oceans, lakes, rivers, and many other places. These boats are intended to address the issue of pollution in the water bodies of Nigeria, particularly in the ocean, because one of the biggest problems being confronted by shippers globally is the fact that the oceans are getting more and more polluted with plastics and many other pollutants that hinder shipping navigation,” he said.

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Six cataboats for pilot-transfer operations across the port system were approved at N80.029bn.

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The minister said, “These boats are supposed to do three main things: quick and safe pairing of pilot to ships for navigation, providing assistance to ships in navigating through channels, and also serving as a liaison between ships and the port authority.”

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Two firefighting boats were also approved at a dollar-denominated cost of $16,000,462, equivalent to approximately N34.059bn, for deployment on fire patrol within port jurisdictions and jetties handling flammable cargoes, oil terminals and waterfront buildings.

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The fourth approval, according to the Environment Minister, was a N112.85bn contract for a collaborative channelling and dredging arrangement for the Escravos-Warri waterway between the Nigerian Ports Authority and MESSRS China Harbour Engineering Company Limited, Dudley Engineering and Register Global Construction.

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“The main task of this channel is to minimise approaches to the ports and covers hydraulic surveys, capital and maintenance dredging, removal of obstruction, pollution monitoring, surveillance and maintenance of navigational aids in line with International Maritime Organisation standards,” Lawal said.

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