The Nigerian Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi has debunked the media reports claiming the Federal Executive Council (FEC) stepped down inherited ongoing projects while stated that neither the President, Bola Tinubu nor the Council directed any inherited project should be stepped down.
Umahi who made this known during an interactive meeting with the contractors in Abuja, on Friday, said the Federal Executive Council noted that the review ongoing in some cases are few new contracts that the Ministry is seeking approval to award.
He added that there is a very large disparity between either the increase in contract costs or the project cost, between what the Works Ministry is looking for and the available funding.
The Minister who said he watched the misleading report on Arise TV, explained further that the subject matter in fact was not about the unit cost, “because we are very satisfied as a ministry with the costs that we have offered to you, which are actually the unit cost in line with the realities of the market prices”.
Umahi reiterated the determination of the federal government in bringing funding and budgeting innovations that would fast-track road infrastructure development, noting that FEC had directed the Ministry to work with the Federal Ministries of Finance and Budget & National Planning to put forward proper budgetary.
“Estimated for the 2025 financial year for those projects that were not appropriately budgeted for but have attained probably 80% completion so that such projects might be completed and delivered. Projects with huge procurement costs but with little completion milestone would be reviewed in line with section 51 of Special Conditions of Contracts”, he said.
The Minister assured contractors of the Federal Government’s willingness to engage on contract review and cost augmentation on the inherited ongoing projects in view of geometric rise in cost of contract elements caused by inherited challenging economy, but it would be done subject to fund availability.
He said that the decision for windows to review and augment the cost of inherited ongoing projects was borne out of Mr. President’s magnanimity and commitment to completing all inherited and funded ongoing federal government road projects nationwide.
According to him, “It was Mr. President, out of his very exceptional magnanimity, that directed that all inherited projects should be made alive through appropriation, promising that he was going to be looking for ways to fund the projects, even outside budgetary provisions, through the National Assembly.” 
He explained, “What we are doing now is to review the projects in line with availability of funds and make a proposal to FEC. If such a project has attained about 80% completion, then we make a proposal to FEC that in subsequent appropriation, money should be made available, and such projects should be made a priority, so that it could be completed”.
On issues of Variation on Price (VOP), the Minister stated, “All projects we awarded in 2024 will not attract any VOP. And we’ve made it as a policy that such projects can not get any variation.
“However, within the course of the year and the project execution, if there are issues (God forbid) that do change the basic market prices of construction materials to a certain extent, we will revisit the issue of VOP. And it will not be selective”, he added.
Speaking on projects with dualization, the Works Minister directed that all contractors with such projects must as a matter of policy, concentrate and first complete one carriageway before turning it over for public use and must within the period maintain the other carriageway for public use.
