The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the reimbursement of funds expended on federal roads by some state governments. The total sum to be reimbursed to five states is N148,141,987,161.25. The beneficiary states are Cross River N18,394,737,608.85, Ondo N7,822,147,577.08, Osun N2,468,938,876.78, Bayelsa N38,040,564,783.40 and Rivers N78,953,067,518.29.
The memo was presented by the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola at the third virtual council meeting, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari inside the council chambers of the State House.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed during a briefing after the meeting said council has also warned that there will be no reimbursement in future, should any state government venture into such projects without the nod of the government at the center.
Recall that in 2016, 35 states and the FCT of the federation sent a very huge bill to the federal government, asking for compensation for money that they have expended on federal roads.
The request had prompted President Buhari to set up a committee to verify the claims of these 35 states and the FCT and ascertain if indeed these projects were actually constructed, and completed, in line with the federal government standards.
