The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited recorded a sharp rise in income from its Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme in 2025, up 10,374 per cent, despite the company’s decision to stop directly funding inherited road projects.

The oil company recognised N92.901m as Road Infrastructure Tax Credit uplift income in 2025, up from N887,000 in 2024, according to an analysis of its 2025 audited financial statements conducted by our correspondent on Friday.

The increase came in the year NNPC began shifting away from directly financing Federal Government road projects under the scheme introduced by the previous administration, prompting the government to seek alternative funding arrangements for unfinished projects.

The uplift income represents an additional financial benefit linked to the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme established under Executive Order 007 of 2019.

According to Note 12.6 of NNPC’s 2025 financial statements, “RITC Uplift income relates to Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Uplift Income which is the equivalent of the Central Bank of Nigeria Monetary Policy Rate plus 25 per cent of the approved project cost.”

The scheme was designed to encourage private-sector participation in road construction and rehabilitation by allowing eligible companies to recover approved project costs through credits against their Companies Income Tax liabilities.

Under the arrangement, participating companies financed approved road projects and subsequently received tax credits. The uplift component provided an additional benefit based on the approved project cost.

However, NNPC’s withdrawal from direct funding raised concerns about the continuation of several road projects inherited by the current administration, leading the Federal Government to develop alternative financing arrangements.

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, said in 2025 that President Bola Tinubu had directed that the inherited projects be continued under a different funding structure.

Speaking about the transition at a press briefing earlier this week, Umahi said, “And let me also say finally about the NNPC inherited tax credit projects. That we inherited, you know, tax credit projects of NNPC under Order 007 of 2019 of the previous administration, which the President took over and continued.

“On August 1st, when NNPC indicated being a private company, they no longer will fund the projects of the Federal Government directly. And the President approved that they should bring up funds for additional accounts. So, we are reframing the projects.

“And the President has taken all those projects into renewable infrastructure funding. However, all the money that the contractors have in their hands, they must exhaust it to earn more money. So, we have rescoped the project; we have refaced it.”

The minister’s comments followed NNPC’s move to discontinue direct funding of the inherited road projects as it focused on operating as a commercially driven company.

In August 2025, NNPC’s withdrawal from the arrangement prompted the Federal Government to intervene and assure contractors that the projects would not be abandoned. The Ministry of Works subsequently adopted a framework for prioritising and funding the inherited projects.

The wider road tax credit scheme was formally discontinued by the Federal Government in February 2026, when the Nigeria Revenue Service announced that companies would no longer be allowed to fund road projects through the tax-credit arrangement.

The government’s position was that tax collection should remain separate from decisions on public expenditure, with road construction and rehabilitation handled through established budgetary and funding processes.

The scheme had enabled companies, including NNPC, to finance federal road infrastructure while recovering eligible expenditure through tax credits. Its discontinuation therefore marked a shift towards alternative funding arrangements for projects previously supported by participating companies.

Beyond the road tax credit income, NNPC’s financial statements showed that its other income increased significantly in 2025. At the group level, total other income rose to N8.416tn from N3.392tn in 2024, an increase of N5.025tn, or about 148.2 per cent.

The company’s own other income increased to N8.061tn from N3.759tn, representing a rise of N4.302tn, or 114.5 per cent.

The figures covered several income sources beyond NNPC’s principal operations, including sundry income, management fees, gains from changes in crude oil stock valuations, dividend income and road infrastructure tax credit uplift income.

“The Group’s sundry income represents income from other operations other than the principal activities of the Group, which includes income from Trans-Forcados pipelines, crude processing fees, miscellaneous income from JV operators, writeback of provision, and stock overlift claim. Lease income represents amounts received from operating leases on pipelines and leasehold properties,” the report read.

The accounts showed that road tax credit uplift income remained a relatively small component of the group’s total other income, despite its sharp percentage increase.

The rise in uplift income therefore reflects growth from a low base rather than a major contribution to NNPC’s overall earnings.

The figures also highlight the distinction between income recognised in the company’s financial statements and the funding of road construction. The N92.901m recorded as uplift income does not represent the total amount NNPC spent on road projects, the value of tax credits utilised or the outstanding cost of inherited projects.

With the tax-credit arrangement discontinued, the Federal Government faces the task of sustaining the delivery of inherited road projects through alternative funding channels while ensuring that contractors are paid for verified work.