Road projects below N20bn reserved for indigenous contractors, says Umahi

David Umahi, minister of works, says road projects below N20 billion will henceforth be handled by local contractors. 

The minister detailed that the policy is in keeping with the federal government’s ‘Nigeria First’ policy while ensuring greater local participation in infrastructure projects.

Umahi spoke during an inspection of the East-West road dualisation (Section IIIA), from Eleme Junction to Onne Junction in Rivers state, on September 9, 2025.

“Going forward, in keeping with the ‘Nigeria First’ policy of the federal government, all projects that are below N20 billion will be handled by indigenous contractors,” he said.

“This is to give them the opportunity for fair competition in the works industry but generally, road constructions are capital intensive, many of them are usually above N20 billion, so any one of such that is below N20 billion will be handled by indigenous contractors.

“That doesn’t mean that they won’t compete for the ones above N20 billion. For this, both indigenous contractors and expatriates can compete for that.”

Speaking with TheCable on the development, Orji Uchenna, the minister’s special adviser on media, said the initiative is aimed at fortifying the ‘Nigeria First’ agenda.

He clarified that indigenous contractors are still eligible to compete for contracts exceeding N20 billion.

“The initiative aims to prioritise indigenous firms for contracts below the N20 billion threshold. However, this does not exclude them from bidding for contracts above that amount,” Uchenna explained.

The announcement coincided with the ministry’s adoption of a funding prioritisation framework aimed at sustaining critical road projects initially financed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) under the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme.

Umahi explained that the framework aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s directive that all inherited NNPC-funded projects must continue without interruption.

He said the ministry has compiled a comprehensive list of these projects and submitted same to the president, prioritising those along key national economic corridors such as the Eleme–Onne road.

“Mr President has graciously directed that none of such works should stop,” Umahi said.

“We are going to prioritise the most critical projects and push them forward for immediate funding.”