*Denies moving ministerial briefing to London 

*Umahi: N2.2trn spent on repairs, construction of 289 roads in two years

Olawale Ajimotokan and Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The federal government yesterday, disclosed that it has secured concessionary funding from the French Treasury for creative infrastructure projects in Nigeria, with potential funding expanded from €35 million to €100 million.

Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, disclosed this yesterday, at the eighth edition of the Ministerial Press Briefing Session, held in Abuja, while presenting the scorecard of the ministry established in November 2023, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Also yesterday, the federal government scorned reports circulating in both traditional and online media suggesting that the Ministerial Press Briefing Session had been relocated from Abuja to London.

Speaking further, Musawa said the collaboration with the French Treasury on funding for creative infrastructure projects in Nigeria, was one of the key drivers with public-private partnerships.

Musawa added that the establishment of the Creative and Tourism Infrastructure Corporation (CTICo), approved by the Federal Executive Council, with projected investment of $100 billion, has a potential to create over two million jobs by 2027.

She stated that the ministry had already created 500,000 jobs in the music sector, which has 49 sub-sectors, as part of the target to provide two million jobs by next year.

According to Musawa, a mapping indicated that the sector would continue to thrive through self-employment and micro-enterprise pathways, with regional hubs like Edo, Delta, and Plateau playing key roles alongside Lagos.

She added: “257,745 jobs have been created in the entertainment sector. This is information that you can find at the NBS. And it is an increase of employment across the full spectrum of not only the creative sector, but the cultural and tourism sector as well-300,000 to 577,754 in 2024.

“And additionally, 23,221 jobs were created in 2024 as a result of the establishment of over 20,000 new start ups under the cultural and creative industries. Now, you must understand that when we talk about job creation, it is really across the full planning chain.”

She also listed other feats to include the partnership with Afreximbank for a $200 million funding commitment; the partnership with Creative Park Limited to establish Abuja Creative City, a first-of-its-kind creative hub in Africa on 26 hectares of land in the IDU Industrial Area, Abuja; establishment of the Nigerian Academy of Cultural Studies (NACUS) by the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), with four strategic campuses in Ogbomoso, Calabar, Lagos, and Abuja, offering specialised cultural education programmes and the launch of the D30 Data Platform, an open-source data initiative developed with BigWin Philanthropy to provide transparent, reliable, and actionable data for Nigeria’s cultural, tourism, and creative economy sectors and launch of a major initiative to renovate Nigeria’s national museums, preserving cultural heritage.

Meanwhile, the federal government yesterday scorned reports circulating in both traditional and online media suggesting that the ministerial press briefing session had been relocated from Abuja to London.

 The claim was dismissed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in his opening remarks at the ministerial press briefing.
Aside Musawa and Idris, others who featured at the briefing were the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, and the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi.

Idris said: “This is your answer to the insinuation that the press briefing session is relocating to abroad. We have our responsibility first to the Nigerian nation and that’s why we invite these ministers to come here and address Nigerians and those outside this country directly from nowhere but the National Press Centre here in Abuja.

“So, if you think that the ministerial press briefing, for those who are already making the insinuation that it’s being moved outside this country, is false. The platform that the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation is providing, is what is happening here in the country.”
Idris used the occasion to commend the performance of the economy, noting a marked improvement reflected in the gradual decline of the headline inflation rate as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics.

“Today, I am pleased to announce encouraging news from the National Bureau of Statistics, which released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April 2025, yesterday. According to the report, the headline inflation rate for April stood at 23.71 per cent, representing a decrease of 0.52 per cent from the 24.23 per cent recorded in March 2025. Similarly, month-on-month, inflation dropped by a notable 2.04 per cent, from 3.90 per cent in March to 1.86 per cent in April.

He asserted that this had not happened by chance, adding the President’s focused interventions were clearly paying off.

The minister said the benefits of reform, though gradual, were real and measurable.

He stated that one of the major drivers of inflation – food prices – had also been brought under control through President Tinubu’s significant interventions, leading to a noticeable reduction in the cost of food items.

“One of the key indicators of relief is the food inflation rate. While food prices remain an important concern for many Nigerians, the year-on-year food inflation rate eased to 21.26 per cent in April. On a month-on-month basis, it slowed to 2.06 per cent, down from 2.18 per cent in March. This positive movement has largely been driven by price reductions in staple items such as maize flour, wheat grain, yam flour, okro, soya beans, rice, and beans.

“We acknowledge that we are not yet where we desire to be. But these latest figures give us every reason to be hopeful. They show that the hard decisions are beginning to bear fruit. And as inflation eases, we expect to see corresponding improvements in consumer purchasing power and living conditions,” he stated.

Idris assured that the Tinubu Administration will sustain the momentum of economic improvement by prioritizing people-centered policies aimed at providing relief, restoring economic stability, and promoting shared prosperity for all Nigerians.

The view was corroborated by Umahi, who was reported to be among the ministers scheduled to unveil President Tinubu’s achievements at a press briefing in London.

Umahi affirmed the position of the Minister of Information and National Orientation, stating that the report was patently false.

Umahi, yesterday disclosed that the federal government has so far spent about N2.2 trillion on the repairs of 260 dilapidated roads as well as 29 other major infrastructure projects across the country.

He revealed that a total of 440 road projects are currently ongoing nationwide, with the critical infrastructure having gulped N2 trillion and palliatives works costing N208 billion.

“In just two years, President Bola Tinubu’s administration has completed 260 palliative road projects nationwide, costing N208 billion. Beyond this, 29 major infrastructure projects totaling over N2 trillion have been undertaken, demonstrating an unparalleled dedication to revitalising our national infrastructure.

“With two years under its belt, this administration is positioning infrastructure as a backbone for national development with ongoing projects spanning rural roads, federal highways, and legacy projects expected to improve trade, mobility, and local job creation,” the minister added.

The minister denied claims that he was among government officials scheduled to participate in the purported international media briefing in London aimed at promoting the administration’s achievements, describing the report as “baseless social media propaganda.”

 “I have not been to London in the past two years, and I never discussed going to London with anybody. I have too much work to do here, talk about going to London. So we should not just take on social media and take it to be true. Nobody discussed going to London with me. And let me say that for a minister to travel out of the country, the rule is that you must get written approval from the President. So this is social media jargon and should not be taken seriously. “Nobody discussed it with me. I’m not aware,” he added.

The minister further said the ministry would reduce the use of foreign contractors in road construction projects across the country in line with the president’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’, which prioritises local content and capacity development.

He added: “Let me also announce that Mr. President directed that we must grow the local contractors. We must grow our local engineers. And so, we have a programme which we call the new tool programme, whereby in every state, we are getting five civil engineers who are not at work, and we are posting them to these four legacy projects and other legacy projects of the country, so that they can learn.

“We can’t continue to use foreign contractors to grow our economy. When you go to China, you find out who is working. We have to grow our people. And we have introduced concrete pavement, which is very easy to learn.

“But the trick in it, and that’s why contractors are fighting me, is that you can do all the mess and cheating with asphalt, but you cannot do that with the concrete because the moment the quality of the concrete is not there, it will fail in your face.”

Also, Umahi reiterated the federal government’s plan to toll critical road corridors for sustainability, mentioning that major roads like Abuja-Kano, Port Harcourt, East-West Road,  the Lagos-Calabar, Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, Kebbi section, and others will be candidates for tolling.

“The vision of Mr. President’s administration is to create a $1 trillion economy. This involves reclaiming our country’s economic strength by promoting local content across all sectors.

“The tolling of the Keffi to Makurdi road has not been suspended, it is ongoing. What informed the decision to toll roads? The construction of Keffi to Akwanga was done under the China Harbour Project, and as part of the agreement, it will be tolled upon completion.”

“Just like the four legacy projects, the completed sections are being tolled because both carriageways are ready,” he added, stressing that it was unrealistic to rely solely on budgetary provisions to fund and maintain all the roads.