In order to repay state governments for their out-of-pocket costs incurred during the eight-year construction of federal roadways, the federal government has returned N859.7 billion to them. This information was included in a fact sheet the Presidency recently issued outlining the accomplishments of the Buhari administration.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, issued a directive to states to refrain from such interventions because the Federal Government would not cover such costs as a result of claims that state governments increase the cost of repair work done on federal highways.
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.
Additionally, on Wednesday at the opening of the Rumuokwuta/Rumuola Flyover, River State Governor Nyesom Wike pleaded for reimbursement of the N80 billion used to build federal roads in the state.
Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, rejected the request and said he owed the man nothing because the state’s governor and residents were already using the built-up roadways.
State governments have continued to receive funds from the federal government despite being told not to interfere with federal roadways falling within their purview. Five states received a rebate of N148 billion for the 2020 rehabilitation of several federal highways.
Five states that built federal highways received a N143 billion reimbursement from the federal government in 2021. 24 states received N477 billion in reimbursements in 2022 for the building and repair of federal highways.
The Federal Executive Council authorized the payment of N152.6 billion to seven states for road improvements carried out on the federal government’s behalf as early as 2023. In the meanwhile, several states have kept up their demands for payment in light of new disclosures.
Akin Oyebode, the commissioner of finance for the state of Ekiti, reported on Thursday that the state government has invested over N11 billion in the building of a few federal highways in the state.
The Ado-Iyin Road and the Omuo-Isinbode Road were among the routes highlighted by Oyebode as examples of how the Federal Government has been misrepresenting its intentions.
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.
