MTN Nigeria, the largest network by market share, has announced plans to reconstruct the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, under the Road Infrastructure Task Credit (RITC) Scheme, in Exchange for Tax Credit. The CEO of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, made this known in the company’s unaudited results for the half-year ended June 30, 2021, published on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).
“2021 marks the 20th anniversary of MTN’s presence in Nigeria. As we celebrate this milestone, we are pleased to announce that our Board of Directors has approved our participation in the Road Infrastructure Tax Credit (RITC) Scheme,” Toriola said.
The Enugu-Onitsha Expressway happens to be one of the busiest roads in the country, yet it’s been the least to receive the federal government attention in terms of making it motorable and even walkable.
In April, the federal government awarded Dangote Cement with tax credit certificates valued at N22.32 billion for the construction of Apapa-Oworonshoki-Ojota road in Lagos and the Lokoja-Obajana-Kabba road connecting Kogi and Kwara states.
The RITC Scheme grants income tax credit to companies and individuals that provide funding for the refurbishment and rehabilitation of roads. Toriola said the federal government and the telecommunications company have commenced discussions about the road project.
The scheme is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Intervention that enables the Nigerian government to leverage private sector capital and efficiency for the construction, repair, and maintenance of critical road infrastructure in key economic areas in Nigeria. Participants will be entitled to utilise the total cost (Project Cost), incurred in the construction or refurbishment of an eligible road as a tax credit against their future Companies Income Tax (CIT) liability, until full cost recovery is achieved.
“This is in response to Government’s drive towards public-private partnerships in the rehabilitation of critical road infrastructure in Nigeria. We intend to participate in the restoration and refurbishment of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway. Conversations in this regard have already commenced, and further announcements will be made in due course”, Toriola added.
Iconic Global Trends 
Good one from MTN
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