Power: Tinubu Mulls Grid Asset Management Company, 100% Benefits for Retiring Civil Servants

• FEC okays concrete roads, carter bridge demolition; four projects per zone for inauguration by May 15

• Approves N10bn for HIV drugs, cancer care revival 

•Places six-year moratorium on establishment of tertiary institutions

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) rose from its maiden meeting in 2026 on Wednesday with several resolutions including President Bola Tinubu’s move to address the myriad of problems facing the energy sector in the country.

At the meeting which he presided over at the Council Chambers at the State House, Abuja, the President presented two memos which were approved, one of which targets the long standing problems in Nigeria’s power sector.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who spoke to newsmen after the FEC meeting, explained that, since the deregulation of the power sector, operations are split into generation, transmission, and distribution.

According to the Minister: “The President has said that the problem mainly in our quest to solve the power problem is largely in the transmitting section. Therefore, Mr. President came with a bill mulling the idea of setting up what is called the Grid Asset Management Company, for example, Grid Asset Management Company.”

Idris stressed that the initiative is still a work in progress, with a multi ministerial committee already set up to oversee the process. The committee includes the Minister of Power,  Minister of State for Gas,  Minister of Works,  Minister of Finance,  Chairman of the Nigeria Legal Service, and the Minister of Science and Technology, “or any other member that they may choose to cooperate with to ensure a seamless process.”

According to the Minister, the parameters, applicable laws, and the interests of existing investors and operators in the transmission segment will be examined with the aim of eventually presenting the framework to the National Assembly for necessary legislation.

Idris said: “Of course the regulatory part will be looked at, all the laws will be looked at. The whole idea is to ensure that as Nigeria stabilizes its economy… and our foreign reserve is going up, over $50 billion, the highest in many  years… inflation, food inflation is coming down… all aspects of the economy are really looking up and improving.”

He further explained President’s rationale:

“For us to actually industrialize, the power sector must be fixed and that is why we are taking this initiative of looking at how this grid asset management company will be set up to help us to solve the problem of power once and for all in this country.”

The second memo presented by President Tinubu was on reforming efficiency and morale in the civil service by introducing an additional exit benefits scheme for retiring workers.

According to Idris, the Council approved “an additional exit benefits scheme providing up to 100 percent of employees’ total emoluments for retiring employees of all treasury funded ministries, departments, and agencies under the Contributory Pension Scheme.”

He emphasised that the decision is in line with Section 4(4)(a) of the Pension Reform Act 2014, which empowers the government to introduce a gratuity framework for retiring employees of federal treasury funded MDAs.

“To say it again, there is an approval in place by council for implementation of an additional exit benefit scheme providing up to 100 percent of employees’ total emoluments for retiring employees of treasury funded MDAs.”

He described the move as “designed to improve efficiency in our civil service arrangement.”

Also, FEC approved multiple high-impact road and bridge initiatives, from highway reconstructions to a full rebuild of Lagos’ Carter Bridge.

Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi told newsmen after the Council meeting that his ministry got approval for six numbers of projects.

The approvals, according to him, cover six strategic projects designed to boost transport links and resilience across the country.

One highlight is the revival of the stalled Suleja–Minna Road, previously handed to Salini Construction Company.

“The company did a bit of the job about 10 kilometers, and it was about 91 kilometers from Suleja to Minna. But it failed almost as they were doing it,” Umahi said.

He added that graciously, Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bago had taken over about 20 km via urban renewal, leaving 71 km by two carriageways. After termination—with the matter before ICPC for fund recovery—one carriageway went to CGC for N91 billion, and the second to CCECC post-BPP approval.

President Tinubu directed concrete for at least the shoulders and main carriageway. “So both projects, we will see very serious improvement in terms of performance starting from next week.”

Additionally, N5.6 billion was okayed for Advanced Engineering Consultants to handle design and costing of the Carter Bridge replacement.

“Recall that we have been to FEC, got approval after going through stakeholders’ engagements, the total recommendation was Carter Bridge can no longer be rehabilitated, it should be demolished, and then new bridge be constructed,” Umahi stated.

FEC, he said, also retooled the 132 km Kano–Kongolam Road—a 2022 tax credit project spanning Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina states—from asphalt to a secure three-lane (12m wide) concrete carriageway with solar lights, tree planting, and CCTV.

“Because of this security there, the project could not take off. And so when we came on board, we had to review the project and rephrase it… instead of doing the entire 132 kilometer by two, so we decided to take one carriageway by three lanes… 132 kilometer scoped for N334 billion,” Umahi explained.

Contracts for the 86 km Abuja–Lokoja Road, He said the contracts were scrutinized amid underperformance by firms like Venus and Sodiji.

“Venus and Sodiji, they are not performing, we have decided to terminate our contract… this one we have scoped now is 86 kilometer, which we are going to do on concrete. And five contractors bid it, and two got one week,” Umahi said. It includes prior sections like 48 km by Trukrit and 56 km by Keyhote, now with Julius Berger among handlers for N146 billion total.

The 103 km Ibadan–Ife–Ilesa dual carriageway, inherited with minimal progress, got a fresh N427 billion award after review, noting Osun State’s 5 km contribution.

Phase Two of the 129.3 km Keffi–Nasarawa–Abaji Road rehabilitation, at N203 billion, will better link Nasarawa State to the FCT.

Umahi also announced ambitions for rapid delivery.

According to him: “We are presenting a minimum of four completed projects in each zone for presidential commissioning by May 15. These are not palliative works; they are major infrastructure projects.”

FEC slsi approved two key memos from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to boost HIV treatment and cancer care nationwide.

Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, while briefing reporters said: “Today, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare presented two memos for consideration of FEC, and the two were approved”.

The first approval covers the procurement of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to sustain the presidential treatment programme for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Salako highlighted Nigeria’s free-drug policy, noting recent concerns saying “We know that Nigeria has a policy of providing free drugs to people living with HIV and AIDS. And earlier in the year, there was some anxiety that Nigeria was going to run out of ARV.”

He said the N9.99 billion contract goes to Fixing HealthCare, aligning with broader goals.

“With this approval, the anxiety is laid to rest. But another significant part of this approval is that the approval is also being used to consolidate on the programme of Mr. President to unlock the healthcare value chain by giving the project to a local pharmaceutical industry that is going to work with a global brand so that gradually over time the capacity to also be able to manufacture ARV drugs in-country can be enhanced.

“So the project has been awarded to Fixing Healthcare at the sum of N9.99 billion to procure antiretroviral drugs for people living with HIV and AIDS,” he added.

The second memo approved targets upgrades for cancer treatment centers. “The second memo is to replace, upgrade, and provide training for cancer treatments in six of our cancer centers, one per geopolitical zone, so that radiotherapy, which is an essential part of cancer treatment, can continue in these centers. And this has also been approved by effect today,” Salako further said.

A six-year moratorium has also been placed on the establishment of tertiary institutions across the country.

Education Minister, Dr Olatunji Alausa, said the move was to improve the quality of education in the country.

The Minister explained that last year a moratorium was placed on private universities, adding that the fresh order was for all tertiary institutions, including polytechnics and colleges of education.

According to him,  Nigeria was no longer worried about access to tertiary education, but on how to improve the quality.

He said, “The memo that was approved by council today is the placement of a Moratorium, six-year moratorium on establishment of new tertiary institutions, universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. Access is not an issue again in the country. We have lots of tertiary institutions, both public and private. We need to help this private institution be sustainable financially. Just last year, we had 2.3 million Nigerians applied to take JAMB and almost 228 universities had less than 50 candidates apply.

“Today we’ve solved the problem of ASUU. Now, more people will go to public universities. What will not happen is that there will be less people going to private universities. So these proprietors have invested a lot of money. We need to make their business sustainable. As we improve quality, in both public and private universities that are available to educate our citizens.”

Alausa also said FEC has approved the reversal of the status of the National Commission for Mass literacy, Adult and non-formal education that was converted to a unit in the Ministry of education earlier on in the life of this administration.

He explained that the President’s agenda was to educate over 50 million Nigerians in the next two to three years to make them digitally literate.

“We felt that making a commission that had been in existence for 20 – 30 years a unit will not help this agenda well.

“So we sought the approval of the council to revert it back to a commission which Mr President as the chairman of the Council graciously approved. This is good for our adults and for people that are also illiterate, because the National Mass literacy, Adult and formal education commission has done a yoeman job in educating people in the rural areas.”

According to him, about 56 million nigerians are illiterate and government cannot continue to have a high number of citizens that are illiterate “so the commission deploys a lot of various ways to educate people across the country predominantly in the rural area using Radio, TV, public advocacy and even they also have their schools.

“So we’re happy today that this commission, the National Commission for Mass Literacy and non-formal education is back as a commission.”