Tinubu prepares 2027 budget, FEC approves roads, airport biosecurity

Politics Spice Special Features Education Sex & Relationship Interview Columns Opinion Advertise with us Tinubu prepares 2027 budget, FEC approves roads, airport biosecurity News October 29, 2026 12:03 am President Bola Tinubu. Photo: State House

President Bola Tinubu will present the 2027 budget to the National Assembly before the end of the year, the Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Doris Anite-Uzoka, said on Wednesday.

She disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by Tinubu at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja.

“We are working on the budget for 2027, and the intention is to present it before the end of the year,” she said when asked when the budget would be presented.

The disclosure comes weeks after the Budget Office of the Federation, in a Personnel Costs Budget Call Circular dated September 4, 2026 and signed by Director-General Tanimu Yakubu, directed all ministries, departments, and agencies to submit their 2027 personnel cost proposals, along with their establishment Acts, by September 18, 2026.

The circular made it compulsory for MDAs to attach establishment Acts to their budget proposals, a new requirement introduced in the wake of scandals over fictitious agencies uncovered by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.

Agencies not captured on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System or the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System were also barred from receiving personnel cost provisions in the 2027 budget.

In her briefing, Anite-Uzoka said the council had congratulated President Tinubu on successfully hosting the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit, held in Abuja from October 26 to 28.

Vice President Kashim Shettima represented the President at the summit, co-convened by the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group as a public-private sector dialogue platform.

She said participants at the summit had acknowledged the achievements of the Renewed Hope Agenda and called for continuity of its programmes.

“The summit also gave us the opportunity to present the National Development Plan 2026 to 2030, which was well received and endorsed by the private sector,” she said, describing the plan as a statutory document that lays out the framework for achieving a $1tn economy through job creation, productivity, and shared prosperity.

The minister also announced that the council approved two major documents, including the Revised National Policy on Food and Nutrition in Nigeria 2026 and the National Nutrition Bill 2026.

She said both documents were developed through a collaborative effort involving the Office of the Vice President; the ministries of Budget and Economic Planning, Agriculture, Livestock, Education, and Health; the National Assembly; the private sector; and development partners.

“It provides the legal framework for governance, coordination, and implementation of food and nutrition programmes in Nigeria to improve the nutritional status and well-being of all Nigerians. It also helps us to institutionalise sustainable financing for food and nutrition programmes nationwide, and to strengthen multi-sectoral coordination, collaboration, implementation, and accountability,” she explained.

Anite-Uzoka said both documents were designed to advance human capital development and, specifically, to reduce the rate of child stunting in Nigeria, a target she described as central to the Renewed Hope Agenda’s health commitments. The National Nutrition Bill 2026, being an executive bill, will now be transmitted to the National Assembly for review.

Also briefing correspondents, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, announced that Nigeria had won the bid to host both the CANEX Weekend 2026 and the Intra-African Trade Fair 2027, the largest trade fair on the continent, following presidential approval of the bid in November 2024.

The Intra-African Trade Fair is convened by the African Export-Import Bank in partnership with the African Union Commission and the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat.

Oduwole said the CANEX Weekend, a cultural nexus event covering the creative economy, would take place from November 5 to 8, 2026, at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts in Lagos, with an expected turnout of about 10,000 guests.

“It covers the creative economy across about seven verticals, from gastronomy and food, fashion, film, performance art, to technology innovation, all the verticals where Mr President has said our youth have a competitive advantage,” she said.

She said the events were also tied to Nigeria’s revised focus on non-oil exports and its strategy to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area, which she said had delivered record-breaking growth for the Nigerian economy.

“It is an opportunity to connect. It is an opportunity to do deals,” Oduwole said, inviting Nigerians across the country to attend the Lagos events, CANEX from November 5 to 8, 2026, and the IATF from November 5 to 11, 2027.

FG approves N626bn for East-West, Ekiti roads

The Federal Government on Wednesday approved eight road construction and rehabilitation projects worth a combined sum of over N626.49bn.

The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, revealed this when he briefed State House correspondents.

He also announced that the first lot of the Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria highway had been completed, describing it as the fastest federal road project in Nigeria’s history, and disclosed that a ministerial meeting of ECOWAS countries on the Lagos–Abidjan corridor would be held on Friday.

The first project approved was the construction of the Okposi-Amasiri Road, an 18-kilometre stretch from Ishiagu to the Port Harcourt–Enugu Expressway, at a contract sum of N20.257bn.

The second was remedial works on the East-West Road, portions of which have sunk below flood level due to the age of the road.

“The road was built years back and is now below flood level,” Umahi said, putting the contract sum at N30bn.

The third was the dualisation of the Bendel-Umuahia-Ohiafa Road, Phase Three, covering about five kilometres, the portion that remains after the Government of Abia State took over 43 kilometres of the project for construction.

The project, originally funded under the Nigerian Port Authority tax credit scheme, was rescoped after that funding stopped, Umahi said.

The council, however, approved a refreshed contract sum of N11.33bn in favour of Bolif Nigeria Limited. The fourth was the reconstruction of the Etuke-Ogenyi-Ankpa-Otukpa Road, a 95-kilometre stretch in Kogi State, awarded to JRB Construction Nigeria Limited at a contract sum of N167bn.

The fifth was the reconstruction of the Ado–Ijan–Ilumoba–Ikole Road in Ekiti State, covering 81.1 kilometres and one bridge, awarded to CBC at a contract sum of N209bn.

The sixth was the construction and rehabilitation of the Sokoto–Ilela Road, designated Route A1, covering 17 kilometres at a contract sum of N28.218bn, awarded to Kespeco Global Limited.

The seventh was the construction of the Tongu–Karamti Road with five bridges, a 30-kilometre project spanning Adamawa and Taraba states, awarded to WeChina Nigeria Limited at a contract sum of N62bn.

The eighth was the construction of the Bichi Ring Road, running 47 kilometres with a flyover, awarded to Laralec at a contract sum of N89.2bn.

The ninth and final project was the Diko–Maje link to the Sule Jamaa Road, approximately eight kilometres, awarded to MW Resources Limited at a contract sum of N14.486bn.

Umahi told correspondents that council had commended President Tinubu for the completion of Lot One of the Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria highway, covering 118 kilometres, of which 81 kilometres had been effectively completed in reinforced concrete pavement in just 30 months.

“Council commended Mr President in the completion of lot one of Abuja Kaduna Zaria Road, 118 kilometer. Effectively completed 81 kilometres in reinforced concrete pavement in only 30 months, the fastest project in the history of this country, and the second one is going to be completed within the next 30 days, and that is 164 kilometres. Only 16 kilometre is left of that project, and are entirely constructed or reinforced concrete pavement,” he explained.

He added that Lot Two, covering 164 kilometres, was within 30 days of completion, with only 16 kilometres remaining. The entire 375-kilometre dual carriageway from Abuja through Kaduna and Zaria to Kano would be lit with solar streetlights, the longest solar-lit route in the country, he said.

The council also took note of the Lagos–Abidjan highway corridor, which stretches 1,028 kilometres across five ECOWAS member states. Nigeria’s segment covers 79 kilometres from Tin Can Island to the Seme border.

Umahi said he would chair a ministerial meeting of the relevant ECOWAS countries on Friday to advance the project, with the African Development Bank set to lend to each member state to fund its own corridor segment.

“Council took note of the Lagos-Abijan 1,028 kilometre, and that 79 kilometre is within the corridor of Lagos from Tin Can Island to Seme border, and so the ministers of the ECOWAS countries are going to be meeting on Friday, chaired by myself, and the decision we’ve taken is that since our own is 79 kilometres, Togo is 89 kilometres, Ghana is 576 kilometres, Cote d’Ivoire is 155 kilometres, and Benin Republic is 128 kilometres, so that the African Development Bank will lend to the member states to fund their corridors. That’s the decision taken by the Federal Executive Council today,” he revealed.

Ebola: FG approves N45.08bn for airport biosecurity

The Federal Government also approved N45.08bn for a national biosecurity and response system across five international airports to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to detect and contain infectious diseases at its borders.

This is as it defended its decision to pay each person quarantined in connection with the recent Ebola case N100,000 per week to secure their compliance with isolation directives.

The Minister of Health and Coordinating Minister of Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents after the FEC meeting.

The airport biosecurity project, approved under a 20-year public-private partnership arrangement with Biohealth Consortium, will cover the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, the Port Harcourt International Airport, and the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu.

Pate said the project had been in preparation for two years and was approved against the backdrop of heightened concern over cross-border disease threats, with over 18 million passengers crossing Nigerian borders through its airports every year.

He explained, “The Federal Executive Council took another step to modernise our biosecurity system at the point of entry. It approved the implementation of the full business case for a national biosecurity and response system at five of our international airports through a public-private partnership.

“The council approved the implementation at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport here in Abuja, Malam Aminu Kanu International Airport in Kano, the Port Harcourt International Airport, the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, through a public-private partnership arrangement in favor of Biohealth Consortium, a consortium of partners, in the sum of N45.08bn over a period of 20 years, this was a project that had been in preparation for two years, over the last two weeks, I think you realise the significance of enhancing biosecurity at our port of entry.”

He said, “Since COVID, we have known that there are significant vulnerabilities in terms of public health threats crossing borders, and the need for coordinated, technology-driven systems for early warning, detection, and response to emerging infectious disease threats.

“Improving biosecurity at the points of entry, particularly at the airports, is so critical to our health security, not only for public health but also for economic security, because when pathogens come and disrupt, economic activities also suffer.”

The system will deploy pathogen detection infrastructure including aircraft wastewater surveillance to track pathogens arriving on flights, air and surface biosampling units, and cargo and baggage biosurveillance technologies for threats that might otherwise enter undetected, said Pate.

He explained that a national surveillance operations centre will serve as a central command and control facility for real-time surveillance, data integration, incident monitoring, and response coordination. Portable laboratory facilities for field diagnostics will also be established directly at points of entry.

Participating agencies will include the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Port Health Services, the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigeria Immigration Service, and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control.

He stated, “Every year, we have upwards of 18 million passengers crossing our borders through the airports.

“The implementation of this system will support evidence-based decision-making, improve inter-agency coordination, compliance with international health regulations, and our ability to deploy more advanced technologies beyond what we currently have through the existing public health services and the various agencies that are involved.”

The Minister added that “The structure is a design, finance, build, operate, and transfer. And under this arrangement, the private sector partner will be responsible for designing, financing, building, deploying, operating, and maintaining the structure during the concession period.

“While the Federal Government will provide necessary policy, institutional, and regulatory support and oversight to ensure that our national objectives are met, an open expiry of the concession. The system and the assets will revert to the control and ownership of the federal government in accordance with the terms of the concession agreement, as reviewed and endorsed by the ICRC, which is the regulator of such public-private partnerships.

“Under the concession structure, the private partner will design, finance, build, deploy, operate, and maintain the system for the duration of the 20 years.

“The Federal Government will provide policy, institutional, and regulatory support and oversight. At expiration, all assets will revert to federal ownership under terms reviewed and endorsed by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission.”

Pate said the five airports were selected based on passenger traffic, biosecurity risk exposure, and geographical spread.

He noted the timeliness of the approval, pointing out that Nigeria had maintained a task force at entry points for five months during the height of the Democratic Republic of Congo Ebola outbreak without recording a single case, until October 19 and 20, when the first confirmed Ebola case was detected.

Responding to a question on the payment to quarantined contacts, Pate said the measure was a targeted containment tool designed to prevent community transmission by removing the financial pressure that could otherwise drive contacts to abandon isolation.

He explained, “Our goal is to contain it. We don’t want to be in a situation whereby we have community transmission. The purpose of our measures is to ensure that her primary contacts, those she met once she became symptomatic, at the clinic, in the hospital, are all identified but also quarantined.

“If they evade quarantine, they go to market. They can transmit it to innocent people out there. So it is so vital that we get their compliance. Many of them, for instance, somebody who may have driven her from one place to the other, is a contact. They have a livelihood, and you ask them to stay in quarantine. They have a family.”

Pate warned that the payment model would become inapplicable if the outbreak reached community transmission, contrasting Nigeria’s current containment posture with the scale of the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“In DRC, where there are thousands of cases, there is transmission in many places. Essentially, they will advise contacts to remain at home. There will be no need, because everybody has it. But here we have been extremely prudent.

“By no means will it be applicable if we have the unfortunate situation of community transmission. This is so that we have the maximum defence,” he said.

He noted that contacts were identified and placed under quarantine within hours of the case being confirmed, with some initially in home isolation before being transferred to designated facilities for closer monitoring.

“They need to be quarantined for 21 days. Ebola has an incubation period of between two and 21 days, and we want to be sure that they did not get exposed because they have a history of contact with her,” Pate said.

Pate added that keeping contacts in proximity served a secondary purpose: enabling rapid secondary contact tracing should any of them test positive.

“If one of them is discovered to have contracted the virus, then because they are at hand, we can quickly circumscribe their own contacts so that it doesn’t spread.

“We are not taking any chances. We may succeed, or there may be an unfortunate one or two cases that may be affected. But if that is the case, we will rapidly get on top of it,” he explained further.

Pate confirmed that as of the time of the briefing, there was no positive Ebola case within Nigerian territory, with the original patient having recovered and returned to her home country following treatment on Nigerian soil.

“We are a large country, and we do not want to have Ebola circulating or other pathogens that may pose a threat to our population,” he stated.

With three years of experience, Stephen, The PUNCH correspondent, has been covering Nigeria’s presidency, politics, security, immigration and trafficking in persons

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