Business

FG Owes Contractors Over N11trn – Minister

Published

3 years ago

November 4, 2022

The Federal Government says it is owing contractors about N11.16 trilliion for the construction of various highways across the country and certificates of completion.
Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, made this disclosure while defending the proposed budget of his ministry in the 2023 Appropriation Bill.
He said the Ministry has currently awarded 1,642 highway contracts for 1,632 projects at a total sum of N10.395 trillion.
While appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Works in Abuja on Tuesday, Fashola said, “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 N10.4 trillion, while a total of about N765 billion 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”.
Making his presentation, 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.
Accordiy to him, the Ministry had documented creation of 339,955 jobs across road projects, adding that, “these are the human activities behind the kilometres (of road constructed)”.
Some of the jobs, he continued, 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”.
Noting that 250,583 road signs were missing on the roads as at 2015, Fasholas said 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”, he explained.
The Minister also explained that the use of such commodities as cement (1.6 million tonnes), reinforcements (512,00 tonnes), and bitumen (3,371,000 tonnes) are all activities that have impacted on people beyong the services being rendered by the ongoing job by the Ministry.
“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”, the Minister said.
He continued 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.

Transport

Automated Points Concession : FAAN Workers Gave 72hrs To Revise Decisions In PH

Published

6 days ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

The trapatriate Unions conprising the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), and the Air Transport Service Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, (ATSSSAN), has given 72 hours Ultimatum to Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria FAAN, Omagwa Airport, Portharcourt to revise its recent decision on the concession of Tollgates and Parks to private hands.

The chairman of the Trapatriate Union, Comrade Felix Ohwoefe gave the Ultimatum yesterday immediately after the joint Unions meeting held at the Airport office of the union, Omagwa, Portharcourt.

Comrade Ohwoefe who double as the chairman of the National Union of NUATE said the two Unions have agreed to take drastic actions if the Authority of the Airport declined to step down it’s decision of concessioning the major revenue points to private hands.

According to the Union chairman, the two union was not aware of the concession plans, and that there were no due process to the procedures.

Comrade Ohwoefe said any attempt for the Airport Management to decline it’s demands towards the concession will result to barricading all entrance and access points of the Airport.

Expressing the the challenges associated to the concession, the Union Chairman said the gesture might resulted to massive sack of workers in the Airport.

The chairman also expressed foul play on the part of either individuals or government in the terms and conditions so given to the concessionaires, demanding the reasons of contracting the automated points to private hands for only 14 millions, when the FAAN is presently generating over 28 million naira monthly, even when the tariff was not reviewed upwards.

He describes the process to the procedures as fraud with intention to increase unemployment in the state.

“We are not against the concession of the Automated points, but due process must be followed. If government is concessioning the place, we are asking what will happen to our workers in the existing units.

“Secondly, if the concessionaires is taken over, they must pay higher than what the FAAN is generating presently, we are generating to the Management over 28 Millions monthly, but we had that the private company is required to pay only 14 Millions monthly, which is far below 5 percents of what we are generating presently, even when the tariff is increased, which means there is a foul play.

“The process is fraud either on the part of individual in the Government, or Government itself.

” The unions is saying no to the Concession until we come to a terms of understanding ourselves., we are afraid of loosing workers, we don’t want to loose any workers if due process is not followed in this hard of economy, we even demanding for employment of more workers in FAAN.” Comrade Ohwoefe said.

The Union used the opportunity to called on the minister of aviation, and the President of the Country, Bola Tinubu to intervene.

When contacting the Management of the Airport Authority through the head of Corporate Affairs, Dr Ngozi V. Onyeanwuna-Nwosu, she said the management has not given her the approval to say something.

Transport

FAAN Announces Pick-Up Points for Go-Cashless Cards

Published

6 days ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has announced designated pick-up points for individuals wishing to obtain their Go-Cashless cards ahead of the March 1, 2026 deadline.

This was announced in a statement signed by the Director Public Affairs and Consumer protection, Henry Agbebire and made available to the Tide last Friday in Portharcourt.

According to the statement, Go-Cashless cards is at all FAAN commercial offices and access gates of Airports in the country .

The release further stated that cards will also be available at designated branches of Fidelity Bank Plc from March 16, 2026.

FAAN in the statement said the cashless policy followed the Federal Government directive mandating all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to transition to a cashless system to enhance transparency and reduce revenue leakages as well improve transaction traceability in the Aviation sector.

FAAN reiterated its commitment to full compliance with the directive, appealing to the public for their understanding and cooperation during the transition period.

FAAN also inform that the Go-Cashless cards can still be obtained at the designated points after the March 1, deadline.

The Authority assures airport users that the initiative will promote faster, safer, and more convenient transactions across its airports nationwide.

By: Enoch Epelle

Business

Fidelity Bank To Empower Women With Sustainable Entrepreneurship Skills, HAP2.0

Published

1 week ago

February 27, 2026

The Tide

Leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, has announced the launch of the second edition of its flagship women-empowerment initiative, the HerFidelity Apprenticeship Programme 2.0 (HAP 2.0).

According to the report, the programme is designed to equip women with practical, income?generating skills and structured pathways to entrepreneurship.

Accordingly, the HAP 2.0 will build on the success of its inaugural edition held in 2023.

During media chat with journalists to herald the launch of HAP 2.0, the Divisional Head, Product Development, Fidelity Bank Plc, Osita Ede, explained that the initiative has been enhanced to deliver greater impact.

He said HerFidelity Apprenticeship Programme 2.0 reflects their commitment to continuous improvement, having evaluated feedback from the first edition, they have returned with stronger partnerships and deeper mentorship programmes to ensure that women acquire not just skills, but sustainable economic opportunities.

Mr Ede, who said the programme is guided with real?world learning, also said that participants will undergo intensive apprenticeship training under reputable institutions and industry experts across selected fields such as hair styling, shoe making, auto mechatronics, and interior decoration.

Additionally, he said HerFidelity Apprenticeship Programme 2.0 goes beyond skills acquisition by offering participants a wide range of business advisory services.

These include business and financial literacy training, mentorship support throughout the apprenticeship journey, access to Fidelity Bank’s women?focused and SME financial solutions, as well as guidance on business formalisation and growth strategies.

Emphasizing the bank’s vision further, Ede said: “By integrating structured mentorship with entrepreneurial development, Fidelity Bank is positioning women not just as trainees, but as future employers, innovators, and economic contributors within their communities.

This aligns with our mandate to help individuals grow, businesses thrive, and economies prosper”.

It is noteworthy that interested participants are encouraged to indicate their interest by visiting https://bit.ly/Apprenticeshipbyherfidelity.

It is important to note that Fidelity Bank Plc is ranked among the best banks in Nigeria, with a full-fledged Commercial Deposit Money Bank serving over 10 million customers through digital banking channels, with 255 business offices in Nigeria and United Kingdom subsidiary, FidBank UK Limited.

It is reported that the Bank is a recipient of multiple local and international Awards, including the 2024 Excellence in Digital Transformation & MSME Banking Award by BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards, the 2024 Most Innovative Mobile Banking Application award for its Fidelity Mobile App by Global Business Outlook, and the 2024 Most Innovative Investment Banking Service Provider award by Global Brands Magazine.

By: Nkpemenyie mcdominic, Lagos