The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has labeled the N800 billion allocated to the ministry in the 2025 budget proposal as insufficient to address the country’s road infrastructure needs. Speaking at a budget defense session with the House Committee on Works, Umahi urged lawmakers to consider increasing the budgetary allocation.
“We plead with you to help us. N800bn cannot do anything for us. It cannot address our road needs,” he stated. Umahi emphasized the necessity for adequate funding to complete ongoing projects and initiate new ones nationwide.
He highlighted that the number of planned road projects far exceeds the current budget, suggesting that borrowing might be necessary to meet the country’s infrastructural demands. “When the nation is in recession, you have to borrow money and do infrastructure. That is how you come out of a recession,” he explained, adding that improved infrastructure could stimulate economic activity and alleviate hunger.
The chairman of the committee, Akin Alabi, responded by promising to summon the Minister of Finance and the Head of the Budget Office to clarify the reasoning behind the ministry’s low budget allocation.
