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TUC Warns Nigeria Needs $120 Billion to Fix Federal Roads—Four Times Its Annual Budget

Union Slams Leadership Over Infrastructure Deficit, Calls for Economic Diversification

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria has issued a stark warning: the country requires a staggering $120 billion to reconstruct its federal road network—an amount nearly four times its entire annual budget. This revelation underscores the deepening infrastructure crisis in Africa’s most populous nation.

A Budgetary Chasm Exposed

Speaking at the TUC South-West Summit 2025 in Lagos, TUC President-General Festus Osifo cited a decade-old study estimating the cost of rebuilding Nigeria’s federal roads at $120 billion. With the national budget hovering between $30-35 billion—already stretched thin across salaries, education, healthcare, and defense—the figures paint a grim picture of Nigeria’s infrastructure financing gap.

“If constructing all our roads costs $120 billion while our entire budget is $30 billion, we’d need four years’ worth of budgets just for roads—without paying salaries or funding other critical sectors,” Osifo told delegates. “This isn’t just about money; it’s about leadership vision.”

Leadership Failures and Economic Myopia

The TUC leader didn’t mince words in criticizing Nigeria’s political class, accusing many leaders of complacency and short-term thinking. He highlighted how rural local government chairmen often disappear until monthly federal allocations arrive, symbolizing a broader culture of dependency.

“While smaller nations with fewer resources outperform us in agricultural exports, we’re still treating oil like a magic wand,” Osifo lamented. “Our arable lands lie fallow, our solid minerals untapped—all because successive governments lacked the courage to diversify.”

Lagos Responds: Collaboration Over Confrontation

Representing Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Commissioner Afolabi Ayantayo acknowledged the TUC’s concerns while advocating for stronger labor-government partnerships. He pointed to Nigeria’s underperforming diplomatic missions abroad as missed opportunities to open international markets for local products.

“Timely salaries alone won’t solve our problems,” Ayantayo noted. “We need policies that boost productivity, curb inflation, and make Nigerian goods globally competitive.”

Summit Takeaways: From Diagnosis to Solutions

Themed Collaborate to Transform: Building Capacity for Regional Excellence and Workers’ Welfare, the summit explored actionable strategies across key areas:

• Agricultural Revolution: Leveraging Nigeria’s 84 million hectares of arable land
• Leadership Overhaul: Developing emotionally intelligent, tech-savvy policymakers
• AI Integration: Preparing workplaces for fourth industrial revolution disruptions

The $120 Billion Wake-Up Call

Osifo’s closing remarks framed the infrastructure funding gap as a metaphor for Nigeria’s broader developmental delays. “That number isn’t just about asphalt and bridges—it’s the price tag of decades of poor planning. Only innovative leadership can turn this around,” he concluded, leaving attendees with a challenge: Will Nigeria’s leaders rise to the occasion, or will the infrastructure deficit continue widening?

As the summit concluded, one question lingered in the air: With 2025 marking 12 years since the original road cost assessment, how much higher might that $120 billion figure climb if action isn’t taken soon?

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