The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) has said that private-public participation (PPP) under the road infrastructure investment tax credit scheme is an innovation that has helped to bridge the gap in road infrastructure in Nigeria.
The institute had commended the approval given by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the construction and rehabilitation of 21 roads under the road infrastructure tax credit scheme.
It said it was obvious that the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Works, has no budget proposal to rehabilitate the affected roads.
The development, the institute said, aligns with the purpose of Executive Order 007 tagged ‘Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme (RID&RITCS)’ signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 25, 2019, which seeks to encourage PPP in the construction and refurbishment of road infrastructure in Nigeria.
A statement by the Registrar and Chief Executive, CITN, Adefisayo Awogbade, called on other large companies apart from Dangote, NLNG and a couple of others that had indicated interest in participating in the scheme, to embrace the initiative which, the institute believes, would lead to strong infrastructural and economic development.
He encouraged parties involved in the implementation of the project to keep to the terms and conditions associated with the MoUs and ensure that the work is thorough and of international standard to justify the Federal Government tax-for-road development innovation.
The scheme, if properly implemented, the institute said, would douse the tension generated by the October 2021 strike threat by the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Petroleum Tanker Drivers wing, due to the deplorable state of the designated roads, which have caused many accidents involving petroleum tankers.
The institute expressed appreciation to the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, the Federal Ministry of Works, NNPC, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, and other stakeholders of the road infrastructure tax credit scheme for demonstrating to citizens that taxpayers’ money could do a lot for national infrastructure development, when well deployed.
