Nigeria’s Minister of Works , Dave Umahi has asked the National Assembly for an Upward review of the budgetary allocation for the Federal Ministry of Works to the tune of N1.5trillion.
This is as the Ministry also seeks the provision of an emergency Fund to cater to unforeseen road rehabilitation emergencies which will amount to about thirty percent of its budgetary provision.
The Minister disclosed this when he appeared before the National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Works to present and defend the Ministry’s 2023 Budget performance and 2024 Budget Proposal.
Another budget Defence Session at the National Assembly as Ministries Departments and Agencies of Government appear before lawmakers to defend their 2024 Budget Proposal.
The Minister of Works who also was a member of the National Assembly before his appointment to serve in President Tinubu’s Federal Cabinet is back to a familiar place among his former colleagues, but this time in Executive Capacity on special Assignment.
While presenting the Ministry’s budget performance for 2023 , he informed lawmakers of the common challenge of under funding which he says has affected the timely execution of Projects.
The Minister also wants more involvement of reputable companies to join in the Road Tax credit Scheme to increase the number of private Sector interventions.
N657.2 Billion is the total amount proposed for the Ministry of works and it’s parastatals with capital cost pegged at N617.8 Billion and Overhead cost at N16.67 Billion.
The Ministry hopes that it’s visit to the National Assembly will be a fruitful one as it anticipates positive feedback from the lawmakers.
The Minister believes if all requests are fully granted it will reduce the number of abandoned projects and also ensure improvement in infrastructure across the country.
