Economy
According to Fashola, FG Owes Contractors Approximately N11tn.
The Federal Government owes contractors about N11.16tn for the construction of various highways across the country and certificates of completion.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), who made this disclosure while defending the proposed budget of his ministry in the 2023 Appropriation Bill, said his ministry had currently awarded 1,642 highway contracts for 1,632 projects at a total sum of N10.395tn.
Fashola, while appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Works in Abuja on Tuesday, with the lawmakers asking him to “take a bow and go” after his presentation, stated, “The main challenge to highways development in the country remains inadequate funding. As at date, the government is committed to highway contractors to the tune of about N10.4tn, while a total of about N765bn are unpaid certificates for executed works.
“Secondly, the shortage of younger engineers/technical officers in the ministry as a result of embargo on employment is affecting proficient project supervision at the sites. It is expected that more sources of funding of highway projects be explored as well as lifting the embargo on employment of needed engineers/technical officers at middle level to enhance supervision of projects.”
Reading from his written presentation to the committee, the minister noted that the regime had built roads with a cumulative distance of about 8,000 kilometres out of the about 13,000 kilometres under (re)construction.
He stated that the ministry had documented creation of 339,955 jobs across road projects, saying, “These are the human activities behind the kilometres (of road constructed).”
He further said that some of the jobs were created through lane marking covering 1,663,954 linear meters, “which was not visible on our roads before but you can now see them beginning to emerge.”
The minister also noted that 250,583 road signs were missing on the roads as of 2015.
According to Fashola, the construction companies had used 1,002,960,851 litres of diesel for various projects.
“Construction companies don’t buy diesel; they buy from the market. All of these suppliers are small businesses who benefit from and are impacted by what we do.”
The minister also said the contractors had used 1.6 million tonnes of cement, adding that, “These are activities going on, impacting people beyond what we do here.”
He stressed that 512,000 tonnes of reinforcement, 3,371,000 tonnes of bitumen, among other materials, had been used for the projects.
Fashola further said, “It is to be noted that as at October, 2022, the ministry had a cumulative unpaid certificates in the sum of N765.017bn for ongoing highway and bridge projects. Apart from the pressure of resources to pay, there is the inadequacy of annual budget provisions where N100m or N200m was provided for roads costing N20bn or more.
“In spite of all odds, 20 major highway projects have so far been completed in 2022 and are ready for commissioning. The total cost of the completed projects is in the sum of N444.322,123,808.61 and they cover a total length of 379.677km. Additionally, there are 59 major highways/bridges priority projects that are at advanced level, to be completed within 2022-2023, with a total contract sum of N60,961,187,130.71.”
Fashola also noted that the ministry had initiated an intensive bridge maintenance programme to ensure serviceability of the major assets, adding that bridges were critical structures that guaranteed connectivity across the federal road network.
“Some bridges have never been maintained since they were constructed over 40 years ago. Furthermore, illegal commercial (human) activities, which are detrimental to these national assets, contributed to their deterioration,” he stressed.
The minister said while the overhead cost of the ministry for 2022 was N627.001m, with N365.750m released for the period of January to July, representing 58.33 per cent, with an outstanding sum of N261.250m.
According to Nivo News, the World Bank has projected that Nigeria’s economy will grow by 4.4 percent in 2026 and 2027, driven by new tax legislation, prudent monetary policies, and ongoing economic reforms. The announcement was made in the bank’s January 2026 Global Economic Prospects report, which described the anticipated growth rate as the fastest for Nigeria in over a decade.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
This latest projection represents an upgrade from the World Bank’s previous forecast of 3.7 percent published in June 2025. The bank highlighted that reforms in the tax system, combined with continued monetary prudence, are expected to stimulate economic activity, improve investor confidence, and reduce inflation. It also noted that increased oil production is likely to offset lower global oil prices, boosting fiscal revenue and strengthening Nigeria’s external balance.
The projection comes against the backdrop of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 3.98 percent year-on-year in real terms during the third quarter of 2025, as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics.
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.45 per cent year on year in November 2025, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The report showed that while consumer prices continued to rise on a monthly basis, annual inflation moderated significantly under the revised base year.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
The CPI increased to 130.5 points in November from 128.9 points in October, marking a 1.6-point month-on-month rise. Despite this, the headline inflation rate declined from 16.05 per cent recorded in October. The NBS highlighted that the November 2025 figure represents a 1.6 percentage point decrease compared with the previous month.
Monthly inflation, however, rose to 1.22 per cent in November from 0.93 per cent in October, indicating that average prices increased at a faster pace during the month despite the moderation in annual inflation. Headline inflation for November 2025 was 20.15 percentage points lower than the 34.60 per cent recorded in November 2024, reflecting the impact of the rebasing exercise that reset the base year to 2024 from 2009.
Over the twelve months ending November 2025, the average CPI increased by 20.41 per cent, down sharply from 32.77 per cent in the corresponding period of 2024. Food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to annual headline inflation at 5.78 percentage points, followed by restaurants and accommodation services at 1.87 percentage points, and transport at 1.54 percentage points. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels added 1.22 percentage points, while education and health contributed 0.90 and 0.88 percentage points, respectively. On a month-on-month basis, food and non-alcoholic beverages drove price increases with a contribution of 0.49 percentage points.
Urban inflation declined sharply to 13.61 per cent year on year in November, down 23.49 percentage points from November 2024, while rural inflation remained higher at 15.15 per cent but fell 17.12 percentage points from the previous year. Month-on-month, urban inflation slowed to 0.95 per cent, while rural inflation accelerated to 1.88 per cent.
Food inflation moderated annually to 11.08 per cent in November 2025 from 39.93 per cent in November 2024. Monthly food inflation rose to 1.13 per cent, driven by price increases in items such as dried tomatoes, cassava tubers, ground pepper, eggs, crayfish, egusi, oxtail, and fresh onions. Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural and energy prices, stood at 18.04 per cent year on year, down from 28.75 per cent in November 2024.
State-level data showed Rivers recorded the highest year-on-year inflation at 17.78 per cent, followed by Ogun at 17.65 per cent and Ekiti at 16.77 per cent. Plateau had the lowest at 9.13 per cent, alongside Kebbi at 10.32 per cent and Katsina at 10.60 per cent. The NBS cautioned that interstate comparisons should be interpreted carefully due to differing consumption patterns and CPI weights across states.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has set a crude oil production target of more than two million barrels per day for 2026, citing strong collaboration with pipeline host communities as a key factor in sustaining increased output.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
Akponime Omojevwhe, Head of Field Operations, Eastern Corridor, Project Monitoring Office (PMO), disclosed the projection during a monthly stakeholders’ meeting with host communities along the Trans Niger Pipeline in Port Harcourt. The meeting was organized by Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL).
Omojevwhe revealed that the 2026 national production budget is pegged at 2.80 million barrels per day (mbpd), with a starting benchmark of 1.84 mbpd and a targeted achievable output of 2.06 mbpd. He affirmed that the Trans Niger Pipeline is currently operating efficiently, attributing its success to the active cooperation between local communities, stakeholders, and PINL.
He emphasized that community participation is critical to pipeline protection, stating, “No private security structure can succeed without grassroots involvement. The communities are a vital part of this job. Their continued support ensures uninterrupted flow along the pipeline.”
Edi Julius, representing the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, lauded the partnership between PINL and the communities, noting that local peace is essential for boosting national oil production. “We are confident that by 2026, Nigeria will exceed two million barrels per day, generating additional revenue and enabling greater support for host communities,” he added.
Dr. Akpos Mezeh, General Manager of Community and Stakeholders’ Relations at PINL, reviewed the year’s progress, highlighting achievements such as strengthened security along the TNP corridor, expanded stakeholder engagement, empowerment programs for women and students, zero incidence of illegal bunkering, and improved community-company trust. He also announced Christmas palliatives for the 215 TNP host communities.
Responding on behalf of the host communities, His Majesty King Philip Osaro Obele urged the federal government to channel more development projects into the region. He praised PINL for its transparency and consistent engagement, emphasizing that ongoing dialogue is essential to maintaining peace along the pipeline.
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