Business
Lawmaker Faults N1.1bn Allocation For Bonny/Bodo Road Project
A member of the House of Representatives for Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency, Dr Sokonte Davies, says the N1.1 billion allocated to Bonny/Bodo Road project in this year’s federal budget is inadequate, saying, the project requires about N20 billion to be completed.
Davies who made this known in an interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt recently, said N20 billion for 36 months was appropriate to the project annually.
He, however, noted that if what had been done on site by the construction company handling the project and the N1.1billion allocated to it in this year’s budget were put together and the project allowed to run for three years, the job would be stuck.
According to him, N1.1 billion allocated to the project amounted to only 50 per cent of the contract value paid to the construction firm.
The lawmaker noted that the greatest challenge currently facing the successful execution of the road project was that the construction firm lacked the capacity to handle it.
He said since he was elected into the National Assembly, lawmakers had ensured that money was allocated to the project in the federal budget, stressing that several meetings held with the construction firm to ensure that it improves on its performance had not yielded fruitful results as the company had allegedly displayed its incapacity and incompetence.
“Our terrain is a unique terrain. We need companies that have the experience and the requisite competence to do the job,” he said.
Davies, therefore, disclosed that the federal Ministry of Works had been directed to value the project and re-award it to a competent company.
He further indicated that he had recently moved a motion on the floor of the House to underline the urgency and importance of the road project to the people of his constituency, saying, as a motion on infrastructure, going by the rules of the House, it was quickly seconded, passed and committed to the House Committee on Budget.
According to him, N20 billion was not too much for the Federal Government to cough out for the road project considering the strategic importance of Bonny Community which is currently hosting the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) to the national economy.
He assured that members of the National Assembly would continue to pursue the completion of the road project.
Donatus Ebi
The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has said that Bank Verification Number (BVN) enrolments rose by 6.8 per cent year-on-year to 67.8 million as at December 2025, up from 63.5 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.
In a statement published on its website, NIBSS attributed the growth to stronger policy enforcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the expansion of diaspora enrolment initiatives.
NIBSS noted that the expansion reinforces the BVN system’s central role in Nigeria’s financial inclusion drive and digital identity framework.
Another major driver, the statement said, was the rollout of the Non-Resident Bank Verification Number (NRBVN) initiative, which allows Nigerians in the diaspora to obtain a BVN remotely without physical presence in the country.
A five-year analysis by NIBSS showed consistent growth in BVN enrolments, rising from 51.9 million in 2021 to 56.0 million in 2022, 60.1 million in 2023, 63.5 million in 2024 and 67.8 million by December 2025. The steady increase reflects stronger compliance with biometric identity requirements and improved coverage of the national banking identity system.
However, NIBSS noted that BVN enrolments still lag the total number of active bank accounts, which exceeded 320 million as of March 2025.
The gap, it explained, is largely due to multiple bank accounts linked to single BVNs, as well as customers yet to complete enrolment, despite the progress recorded.