The Senate has commenced investigation into various legacy projects abandoned in the country, totalling 11,866.
To this end, the Senate has set up an ad-hoc committee on the projects abandoned across Nigeria by the federal government.
The committee is also mandated by the Red Chamber to recommend appropriate actions to be taken to reduce project abandonment and how most of them can be revived.
This followed the Upper House consideration and adoption of a motion titled: “Urgent need to look into the 11,866 Mega Projects Abandoned by the Federal Government,” during plenary.
The motion was sponsored by Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (APC-Ondo South).
Ibrahim said in his lead debate that in 2011, former President Goodluck Jonathan set up a committee on federal government-abandoned projects in Nigeria.
He said the committee visited the 36 states of the federation and identified 11,866 projects abandoned by the government since the country’s independence in 1960.
The lawmaker said about 63 percent of the entire projects since independence were abandoned.
“Even when a project is successfully delivered it usually comes with an overrun of about 40 percent while most delivered projects record 10 percent underperformance,” he said.
While saying that the 63 percent of projects abandoned in Nigeria was worse than any country under comparison, he added that the abandonment of the project is of “significant concern because of project costs which constitute a significant part of the GDP. “
While spending on a public project in the United Kingdom (UK) is now about one trillion British pounds Nigeria has no idea of the total amount spent on public projects either successful or unsuccessful since independence,
He observed that the cost overrun and benefits shortfall over and over again of projects in Nigeria was important.
Ibrahim, said, “For instance, in the investigation carried out at the University of Cambridge doctorate in management science between 2018 and 2022, the value of the 38 projects investigated cost Nigeria over $40 billion.”
He argued that government has the responsibility to set up a professional system that will deliver the critical value from major infrastructure development for its citizens and
He added: “For 66% of projects to be abandoned since 1960 is nothing less than a calamity that reduces our pride as a ‘Giant of Africa’ if we are still one and every stakeholder should be concerned with giving support for a legitimate solution while the government has the responsibility to act.
“Let me also say that it is now the case that three abandoned projects out of the 11,856 projects are over 30% of the national debt for instance on Ajaokuta over $10 billion was spent without any production needless to talk of Sure-P projects or the Second Niger Bridge:
“Recalls that projects like the National Library, Lagos Badagry Express Road, Calabar Power Plant, Zungery Dam, Mambilla site, Otukpo Dam, Nigeria Satellite, Nitel, Calabar Sea Port, Abuja Mass Housing project to mention but few have remained abandoned till date,” he said.
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