The Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Nweze Umahi has said that the N800 billion allocated to the ministry in the 2025 budget is inadequate to address the country’s road infrastructure needs.
Speaking at his 2025 budget defence session organised by the House Committee on Works on Friday – yesterday, January 17 – in Abuja, the FCT, the minister appealed to the committee to use its legislative powers to consider increasing the ministry’s budgetary allocation for the 2025 fiscal year.
Umahi emphasised the need for adequate funding to enable the ministry to complete ongoing projects and initiate new ones across the country, explaining that the scope of road projects the ministry is planning to undertake would not be achieved with the allocation.
To mitigate the situation, Umahi argued that borrowing to address Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit is crucial for the nation’s progress.
“We plead with you to help us; the N800 billion cannot do anything for us. It cannot address our road needs and so we plead with you to help us.
“When the nation is in recession, you have to borrow money and invest in infrastructure.
“That is how you emerge from a recession.
“Infrastructure is a catalyst for economic activities and this hunger we talk about will become a thing of the past.
“Food sellers, sand suppliers, gravel workers and others will benefit; support President Bola Tinubu and let’s borrow money to build infrastructure so that Nigeria can be great again,” he said.
Chairman of the committee, Mr Akin Alabi (APC-Oyo), promised to interface with the Minister of Finance and the Budget Office to unravel the rationale behind the ministry’s low budgetary allocation.
