Federal Ministry of Works

Federal Ministry of Works (FMW)

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Welcome To Federal Ministry Of Works.

Minister Federal Ministry Of Works Engr. David Umahi.

Road Construction Inspection Tour.

Road Inspection.

Road Construction Inspection Tour.

Road Inspection.

Road Construction Inspection Tour.

Sep

2025

LATEST PRESS

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF WORKS ADOPTS FUNDING PRIORITIZATION FRAMEWORK ON NNPCL INHERITED TAX CREDIT PROJECTS NATIONWIDE.
-PROMOTES NIGERIA FIRST POLICY, SAYS CONTRACTS BELOW ₦20 BILLION TO BE DONE BY INDIGENOUS CONTRACTORS.

As part of strategic plans towards sustainability in project funding and execution and in pursuance of the directive of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR on strategic and systematic funding of inherited NNPCL funded projects, the Federal Ministry of Works has adopted funding prioritization framework to ensure the continued execution of road projects hitherto funded by Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL) under the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme. The Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency, Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi, CON made this disclosure during his inspection visit to the ongoing dualization of the East-West Road (Section IIIA) from Eleme Junction, Port Harcourt to Onne Junction in Rivers State handled by Messrs RCC Nig Ltd dated 9th September 2025.

Speaking during his visit, the Honourable Minister stated that the Federal Ministry of Works had compiled all the NNPCL inherited Tax Credit projects for strategic priority funding, noting that the most critical projects within the national economic corridor would receive precedence in the hierarchy of prioritization. “We are inspecting projects of federal government in Rivers State, and this particular one is the dualization of Eleme Junction to Onne Port Junction by RCC. Recall that one carriageway was completed and commissioned, even though there are a few things we ordered afresh like the retaining wall and hanging drainage. For the second carriageway with some bridges and flyovers, work has started on it. Let me say that this is part of the NNPC Tax Credit that has been stopped in terms of funding by NNPC. But graciously, we have compiled all the NNPC inherited Tax Credit projects, and we presented as Ministry of Works to Mr. President. And Mr. President has graciously directed that none of such works should stop now. However, as Ministry, we are going to do prioritization of the projects and look at the most critical of these projects within the national economic corridor like this one. And we are going to put it forward for immediate funding because the President directed that none of such projects should stop now.”

He admonished contractors handling road projects under the Federal Ministry of Works to ensure speed, quality, compliance with specification and sustainability in project delivery and cautioned that the attention of the anti-graft agencies would be called to any case of violation of the regulations or terms and conditions set out under the contract of every project handled by the Federal Ministry of Works. He stated, “I have also noticed in some of the projects in Rivers State, and same with the Six Geo-Political zones, that contractors go ahead to put stone base and put binder course of asphalt, sometimes over 20 kilometres and leave the binder unprotected without putting wearing course. The binder is like a reinforcement to the road architecture. The wearing is the sealant that doesn't allow water to go beyond the surface. And so when you now put stone base, which has dust as designed, and you put binder, which is like a reinforcement, and you see that the composition of the binder asphalt has bigger stones, and it has holes, so the water penetrates. The moment it gets to the stone base, which has some dust, the road fails. It may technically look safe, but with time, it will definitely fail. And we've seen it in a number of roads we inspected. And what I've directed the Controller to do, and it's going to be nationwide, is that when you are putting binder and you have left it for more than two months, we are going to redo the certificate and remove all the binder and remove the stone base.” He directed that henceforth any project below the contract sum of ₦20 Billion would not be given to expatriate firms, and this he said is part of measures to promote the Nigeria First policy of Federal Government of Nigeria.

He commended the construction company handling the Eleme - Onne project, Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) for the quality of work so far done and for working on the project despite the fact that NNPCL has stopped funding the project, but frowned at the slow pace of work which they said was affected by the rainy season. He restated that 15th December 2025 remains the agreed deadline for the project’s completion with no extension or Variation of Price (VoP) allowed. “On this project of Eleme Junction, the quality of the work is excellent. The pace of the work is totally not acceptable. And let me make it very, very clear to the contractor that this project can never be reviewed by a kobo. Neither can there be any variation of price or any other claims.” He expressed dismay over the destructive habit of packing heavy duty vehicles on the road by drivers and warned that forthwith punitive measures would be taken against such perpetrators. “Our roads are not designed to carry these heavy trailers that are parking on the road. And the press should help us on that. When I was coming yesterday all the way from Aba to here, I saw that the trailers are taking over the entire roads, putting their waste, destroying the pavements, and so on and so forth. So I'm going to write to our dear Governors to see what they could help us to do about it, and will also complain to the Inspector General of Police. Let us see what we can do about it. Mr. President is doing everything possible to right the wrongs in terms of road construction. We are doing quality roads now that are going to last from 50 to 100 years. But it's being destroyed by ourselves.”

Earlier, the Federal Controller of Works in River State, Engr. Enwereama Tarilade (Mrs.) said the contractor handling Eleme- Onne road had completed the 15km Eket bound on the right carriageway and had moved to the left carriageway which is Port Harcourt bound for which 1km stretch had already been done on Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP).

Projects visited by the Honourable Minister include, the rehabilitation of Enugu – Port Harcourt, Abia/Rivers State, contract No: 6252 being handled by China Civil Engineering Construction Company Limited (CCECC), the upgrading of the 15km section of the East-West Road (Section 111A) from Port Harcourt (Eleme Junction) to Onne junction in Rivers State, contract No: 701 being handled by Messrs. RCC Nig. Ltd and multiple sections of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, including the sections handled by Arab Contractors and China Civil Engineering Construction Company Limited (CCECC).

Hon. Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji
Special Adviser (Media) to the Honourable Minister of Works Works

Feb

2024

Works Ministry, Engineering Bodies Resolve to Strengthen Partnership on Road Sector Development The Federal Ministry of Works and the two foremost engineering bodies in Nigeria, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and the Council for Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, (COREN) have resolved to strengthen existing partnership in the bid to work together for the realization of the Renewed Hope Agenda for the road sector. The Honourable Minister of Works, Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi, CON, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Yakubu Kofamata stated this Thursday in Abuja when the Executive Committee of the NSE and COREN paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja. Speaking about the importance of the partnership between the Ministry and the engineering bodies, the Minister noted that working in synergy with relevant regulatory and professional organisations in the sector should surely impact road infrastructure development in the country. He emphasized that the Ministry’s collaboration in the area of training and re-training of Engineers is very important as “the collaboration will enable home grown Nigerian Engineers to work for the government and for the success of Nigeria’s infrastructural development as embedded in the Renewed Hope Agenda.” According to him “in every consultancy service that we need concerning the construction and maintenance road network, we will always request for the input, contribution and the expertise of your organisations”. On the removal of the Federal Government funding from regulatory agencies like COREN, the Honourable Minister informed the delegation that the Ministry was working on the matter, explaining that it was indeed a government decision which was not directed at any particular agency. Assuring on the strengthening of the existing partnership with the two bodies, he said further “I want to assure you that this Ministry will work for our common good. In fact, I want to stress that our door is open anytime for consultations. Earlier in her remarks, the leader of the delegation and President of National Society of Engineers (NSE), Engr. Margaret Oguntala, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the appointment of Sen. Engr. David Umahi, noting that the effect is already being seen in the road sector. She lauded the Honourable Minister’s immediate impact on the sector through the use of professionals as consultants which she described as long overdue. Engr. Oguntala also called on the management of the Ministry to avail itself of the recently developed engineering database for professional services, stating it would assist greatly in strengthening their partnership. In the delegation to the Ministry were Engr Margaret Oguntala, the President of NSE; Engr. Prof. Sadiq Abubakar, President of COREN; Engr. (Prof) Adisa Bello, Registrar (COREN); Others are Engr. Joshua Egube, Engr. Valene Agberagba, Engr. Saidu Hassan, Engr. (Dr.) Halimed Adeniran, Barr. Tom Ebgele, Lawan Abdo Mariri, and Andrew Francis Onyibo. ...

Feb

2024

FG Tasks Concessionaire on the Revitalization of Central Workshop Ijora Lagos for Optimal Delivery in its Mandate of Public Works The concessionaire interested in investment in the rehabilitation and management of the Central Workshop Ijora, Lagos under Public Private Partnership has been tasked on the need to leverage on the private sector initiatives of the Renewed Hope administration of the President of Nigeria, His Excellency President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR to invest on technologies that will promote best construction standards in Nigeria, bearing in mind the mandate of the Central Workshop which is essentially public works as provided by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission. The Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency, Sen. Engr Nweze David Umahi CON stated this during a concession review meeting with the Public Private Partnership unit of the Federal Ministry of Works led by its head, Ugwu- Chima Nnennaya (Mrs) and Messrs. BETA Transport Nigeria Ltd led by its Director, Nana Fatima Paturel, dated 13th February 2024. He urged them to see the partnership as an opportunity to develop technologies that would help in the building and maintenance of the government's infrastructure, especially buildings, road construction, bridges, rail tracks, harbours, and aerodromes. He highlighted the importance of the Federal Government's approval for the concession of the Central Works Ijora, Lagos and expressed confidence that if fully rehabilitated and put into optimal use, it would create job opportunities and help in the training of Nigerian youths, artisans and craftsmen that would close the gap in the human capital formation needed to drive the construction and manufacturing industry. Considering the report on the processes leading to the finalization of the concession agreement with Messrs BETA Transport Nigeria Ltd, the Honourable Minister expressed reservations over the strength of negotiation that gave rise to the financial close, and therefore constituted a five- member committee to re- evaluate the negotiation outcome and make appropriate recommendations with a view to achieving value for the federal government. The Committee is made up of the following members: 1. Director Highway Construction and Rehabilitation - Chairman 2. Director Highway Panning & Development - member 3. Director Engineering Services 4. Director Legal Services 5. Head Public Private Partnership - Secretary Responding on behalf of the committee, the Chairman thanked the Hon. Minister for his sense of commitment to the cause of national development and for the ethical standards he introduced in the conduct of government businesses in the Federal Ministry of Works and assured him that the committee would deliver on a record time in the assignment given to them. ...

Feb

2024

FG TO STRENGTHEN OPERATIONAL MODEL OF HIGHWAY DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE TO ENSURE QUALITY DELIVERY AND EFFICIENT UTILIZATION OF ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE In his efforts towards rejigging the operational model of the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI), the Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi, CON has introduced parameters that will strengthen the quality delivery and management of road infrastructure under the Public Private Partnership model of road infrastructure development known as Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) and ensure efficient utilization of the completed projects by road users. The Honourable Minister gave this indication during a meeting with the Public Private Partnership unit of the Federal Ministry of Works and Messrs. Africa Plus Partners Nigeria Ltd (APPNL) concessionaires for the Benin-Asaba and Lagos-Abeokuta road corridors in his office on 12th February 2024. In the meeting, which had in attendance the team of the PPP headed by Ugwu-Chima Nnennaya (Mrs.) and the team of APPNL lead by Mr. Dipo Lawore and Mr. K. V. Rao, there were discussions on the way forward for achieving a more effective operational model for the HDMI programme and more efficient contractual relations between the Federal Government and Concessionaires. The meeting which dwelt on the review of the project parameters for the Benin-Asaba and Lagos-Abeokuta road corridors as negotiated in 2022 by Messrs. Africa Plus Partners Nigeria Ltd (APPNL) was necessitated by the heightened inflationary pressures, exchange rate concerns, reduced vehicular traffic on the highways occasioned by the increase in fuel pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). Speaking on the need for quality delivery of road projects and efficiency in project negotiation, the Honourable Minister listed what he termed Renewed Hope model of the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) and said the parameters would be finetuned, agreed upon and adopted in all contractual relations between the Federal Government and concessionaires going forward. He highlighted the parameters to include: a. The design of the project to be in line with the specification of the Federal Ministry of Works and investor can only improve upon the design made by the Ministry. b. A reasonable construction period must be agreed upon. c. There shall be no variation on the project. d. 100% of one carriage way must be completed before tolling by concessionaires. e. The business plan must be in line with the socio-economic dynamics. f. Terms of tolling of road projects must be in accordance with the Laws of the Federation, and standard contract conditions must be followed. g. Contingency and variation on Price (VOP) shall be utilized only by the express and written permission of the client. h. Bill of Quantities shall be verified and adopted in line with the prevailing market prices. i. Road count on traffic shall be carried out by the investor and where such data has been provided by the client, it is the duty of the investor to accept or verify and where the investor accepts, it shall be binding on all. j. It shall be the duty of the investor to sensitize the public on the toll programme in every project. k. The client shall have the right to terminate the job of the investor for failure to comply with the time of road project completion. l. Every road construction for highways must be in accordance with the highway standard prescribed by the Laws of the Federation. In their separate responses, the team leader of the APPNL and the head of the PPP unit of the Federal Ministry pf Works assured the Honourable Minister of their commitment to the innovative initiatives of the Federal Ministry of Works on road infrastructure and thanked the Hon. Minister for pointing out that there was a dire need to review not only the cost of the concessioned project, but also the scope of the project to meet with the standard of road construction in accordance with the innovations introduced by the Ministry under the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GGFR. They expressed their commitment towards a robust negotiation on the project review that would lead to a financial close so that work could commence without further delay. They promised to carry out further technical analysis on all the issues raised in the meeting and re-present same to the Honourable Minister for consideration. ...

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT

Jul

2024

OTHER NEWS

Aug

2021

FG Assures Motorists Of Commitment To Road Infrastructure

The Federal Government has assured the Public of its commitment to infrastructure development in the country, adding that all roads affected by flash floods are noted and are receiving required attention.

Speaking in the Ministry after receiving an interim report of on- the -spot assessment of the Abuja -Lokoja flash flood and the bridge in Gwaram Local Government Area of Jigawa State, The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing Babangida Hussaini, stated that the Ministry was looking into all the issues of flooding on the nation’s roads

On the Abuja -Lokoja road , he said the flash flood at the weekend was caused by excessive rain and that as soon as the rain subsided , the flood receded, and the road has been opened to traffic since Saturday.

On the bridge in Gwaram Local Government Area of Jigawa State the Permanent Secretary noted the prompt response of Jigawa State by diverting traffic to an alternative route and commenced repair works on the bridge immediately, he therefore commended the state governments and the stakeholders for their efforts in supporting Mr. President’s commitment to road and infrastructure development.

He assured the Jigawa State Government of the Ministry’s technical support as at when needed. He said the professionals in the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing are always available to provide technical support to states in all the roads and bridges construction activities.

SPEECHES

Nov

2019

Welcome Remarks By the Director (Planning, Research & Statistics), Dr. Famous S. Eseduwo at the Technical Session of the 8th Meeting of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development

PROTOCOLS

On behalf of the Honourable Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, Honourable Minister of State, Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu, FNSE, the Permanent Secretary, Mohammed Bukar and the Management of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, I warmly welcome you to the Technical Session (Meeting of Officials) at the Eight (8th) Meeting of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development.

2. The theme of this year’s Council Meeting, “Housing Development and Consumer Credit as Strategies for National Prosperity” was carefully chosen in recognition of government’s new initiative to generate more jobs and create wealth for Nigerians through the mass construction of affordable housing units.

3. As we all are aware, housing is one of the fundamental human needs and a veritable indicator of standard of living in every society. However, housing deficits exist in almost all the countries of the world, either in the form of shortages in supply or affordability gaps.

Housing is of supreme importance to man and one of the best indicators of a person’s standard of living and his place in society. However, at no point has it been adequately supplied either quantitatively or qualitatively.

4. Permit me to highlight that various factors are responsible for preventing effective housing development, some of which include lack of secure access to land, high cost of construction, limited access to finance, bureaucratic procedures, high cost of land registration and titling, uncoordinated policies and implementation at both Federal and State levels, ownership rights under the Land Use Act, lack of critical infrastructure, affordability gap, and inefficient development control, etc.

5. In order to comprehensively address the challenges of housing development for sustainable economic growth, there is the need to develop a holistic strategy that will involve all tiers of government and the private sector. Considering the fact that the private sector has displayed flexibility and potentials in housing development as it is prevalent, internationally. I want to assure you that the federal government would continually work towards fine-tuning its policies and programmes towards creating an enabling environment for greater participation of subnational governments and the private sector in housing development.

6. It is worth noting that, the present Administration is mindful of the challenges of ‘access to credit’ encountered by the Low- and Medium-Income segments of our society in the pursuit of home ownership. Government is also aware that land acquisition poses a major hindrance to effective housing delivery. Thus, all processes that would ensure proper harmonization of the various procedures and instruments of land acquisition/transfer across the country are currently being addressed.

7. The Ministry through its agencies is working tirelessly in collaboration with the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), Cooperative Societies as well as the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) towards the development and delivery of affordable housing to the low-income workers in the formal sector. Furthermore, our Agencies are also developing initiatives to incorporate micro-enterprises, such as agro-allied ventures into the housing scheme with a view to generating more employment opportunities thereby creating wealth for beneficiaries to repay their loans at ease

8. It is interesting to note, that the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria’s single digit interest rate of 6% on mortgage and home renovation loans is the lowest, compared to what is obtainable in the open market. The Bank has concluded various initiatives to make shelter more accessible and affordable by the reduction of equity contribution for National Housing Fund mortgage loans to 0% for loans of N5 million and below, while loans of N5 - N15 million attract only 10% down payments.

9. In addition, the ‘Rent-to-Own’ initiative eliminates equity contribution and payment of mortgage perfection fees, which accounts for up to 20% of mortgage transaction costs. Under a simple rental arrangement, an individual gains immediate access to a housing property while the monthly rent is accrued to serve as equity build-up towards ownership of the property.

10. As you are also aware, the ongoing National Housing Programme across the federation is an initiative specially designed to encourage local manufacturers, professionals, artisans and craftsmen towards enhancing employment and wealth creation. The Housing Programme only allows the use of home-grown building materials and components in the construction of the houses except where it is established that the component cannot be produced locally or production capacity is inadequate.

11. Ladies and Gentlemen, in recognition of the widening income gap in our society, the present administration has provided an array of safety-nets through the National Social Investment Programme (SIP), targeted at providing support to over 12 million needy Nigerians by giving relief and assistance to children, unemployed youths, the weak and vulnerable as well as small/medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) to mitigate the adverse effect of poverty. Let us also use this platform of the National Council to harvest ideas and develop some stringent strategies for employment generation and wealth creation through the built industry.

12. I, therefore, urge all stakeholders, here present, to make meaningful contributions on the memoranda submitted to enable the federal government formulate and strengthen policies that would facilitate more home ownership amongst Nigerians, especially the low- and -medium income earners.

Thank You.