Senate Considers Bill For Completion Of Abandoned Projects

Senate Threatens Action Against Agencies Ignoring Audit Queries
Senate Threatens Action Against Agencies Ignoring Audit Queries
Senate has proposed a bill to mandate the completion of abandoned project in any part of Nigeria, irrespective of the administration which started it.

Gatekeepers News reports that the bill seeking to make it unlawful for a government administration to abandon ongoing projects on Wednesday scaled second reading in the Senate.

The bill titled: “Compulsory Development Planning and Project Continuity Bill, 2021” was sponsored by Senator Jibrin Barau who said the bill seeks to make development planning compulsory for all tiers of government.

According to him, the non-completion of projects and lack of continuity in government programmes and policies are largely responsible for Nigeria’s lagging economic and infrastructural development.

He said the bill seeks to make provisions for each of the governments of the Federation to establish and maintain project implementation plans for projects within their jurisdiction from inception to conclusion.

Barau said, “Mr President, my respected Colleagues, all over the world, government is a continuum.

“Ideally, once the baton of leadership of a nation is handed over to a new government, the onus lie on it to embrace the projects, policies and programmes of the previous administration without recourse to any personal, party, or primordial interests.

“However, one major identifiable draw-backs to social, economic and infrastructural development in Nigeria is lack of continuity of policies and programmes of government at the Federal, State and Local Government.

“State resources are poorly managed as some political leaders often embark on white elephant projects that cannot endure the test of time at the twilight of their tenures.

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“This unfortunate tradition has badly characterized governance and induced corruption since 1999.”

He added that as of June 2011, the Presidential Projects Assessment committee led by Architect Ibrahim Bunu, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, had reported that there are 11,886 abandoned federal and state government projects across Nigeria which requires N7.78 trillion to complete.

He said the committee revealed that political and personal considerations outweighed national interest in the award of contracts.

“Majority of the contracts the committee said were procurement driven rather than development driven.

“With this ugly political trend and worrisome disposition of some politicians, the nation is utterly consigned to retrogression if not urgently checked”, Barau lamented.

The lawmaker explained further, “this Bill provides sure remedy to the lack of seamless developmental plan for the nation.

“It rises above primordial sentiments and stands to quarantine any regional neglect or political vendetta.

“The proposed Bill professes enduring legacies and showcases excellent promises to Nigerians.”

The bill which was exhaustively debated was unanimously supported by lawmakers in their separate contributions.

Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, thereafter, referred the bill to the Committee on National Planning and Economic Affairs for further legislative work.

Committee which is chaired by Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi (APC, Ekiti North) was given four weeks to report back to the Senate.