FG should rehabilitate roads through Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme in Edo.
By Innocent Okoh
In a recent publication on the Punch Newspaper, I read about how Kwara State House of Assembly commended the Federal Government for granting approval for the rehabilitation 294km roads in the state, under the Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme, and my state, Edo, quickly came to mind, were we included in this Scheme?
The approval to the proposal was granted by the Federal Executive Council at their last meeting on Wednesday while President Mohammadu Buhari has signed Executive Order 7 under which the roads would be rehabilitated by the BUA Group.
I don’t understand how this proposal came about whether it was facilitated by the state government or the federal lawmakers representing the state in the National assembly or the ministers from the state/the important personality from Kwara state, however I understand the BUA group is seriously involved in this Scheme and should have great role in the actualization of this proposal let alone the full completion of the project.
The federal government should equally understand that the BUA group has a cement company in Edo, and as such benefit yearly from the company tax and should as well channel this kind gesture to the heart beat of the nation for equity and justice.
Though the federal government has been very slow in major road projects ongoing in Edo, which has made many residents losing trust and confidence in the present administration particularly on the completion of the Benin-Auchi expressway project, which has continue to record slow pace especially now that it’s just less than two months to hand over to the next government.
Despite the fear, the state needs serious federal government presence especially in the construction and rehabilitation of major roads in Edo, and should not be left out in this Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme, which Kwara state has just benefited from. The Dangote group equally has large investment in the state, and so are other multinational companies paying large amount of tax to the federal government. If this task is too heavy for BUA group, then attention should be focused on other companies which I have mentioned.
It will be a right step in the right direction, time shouldn’t be wasted on this, all effort should be channel towards this course, the state government, federal lawmakers and the relevant agencies have the responsibility and must exhaust all available resources in actualizing this goal, because we all know the federal government didn’t wake up to start writing proposal for the construction of the four major roads in Kwara state, people wrote it, lobbied and ensured it gets to the FEC, for approval. And Edo nor dey carry last at all.
