Abubakar Kabir, Chairman, House of Representatives’ Committee on Works, has underscored the need for upward review of the proposed allocation for execution of various road projects across the country.
Kabir said this during the debate on the general principles of the 2022 budget estimates on Wednesday in Abuja.
This is against the backdrop of the 2022 Appropriation Bill presented by President Muhammadu Buhari before the joint session of the National Assembly.
Buhari proposed N481,964,861,868 for the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing in the 2022 budget.
While expressing concern over the state of federal roads and the need for adequate funding, the lawmaker said that there was need to upscale the budget for the ministry of works.
According to him, the proposed budget showed that the sums of N15,050,141,513 is for personnel; N16,885,462,684 for overhead; and N450,029,257,671 is for capital expenditure.
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He identified that the allocation to the Ministry of Works used to be insufficient, including that handiest N280 billion used to be allotted within the 2022 budget.
He added that recently the rustic had about N640 billion certificate owing contractors.
“So, if we practice N280 billion in opposition to N640 billion for our remarkable certificate, that implies in 2022 there’s not anything we will be able to see in any highway infrastructure reminiscent of bridges and building of roads.
“After all the President has executed really well relating to initiation of SUKUK, NSIA, HDMI, they’re doing really well.
“However in truth we’d like extra investment, a minimum of further of N500 billion for large construction in road infrastructure,” he advised.
He often known as for the adoption of the coverage on Tax Credit score Scheme, the place corporations could be allowed to increase highway infrastructure with tax holiday to the track of the price of the mission.
