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Senate launches probe into abandoned projects in Nigeria
The Senate on Thursday set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the number of abandoned projects in the country.
This followed the adoption of a motion on the need to look into the 11, 856 mega projects abandoned by the Federal Government presented by the Senator representing Ondo South, by Jimoh Ibrahim, at the plenary in Abuja.
In his presentation, Ibrahim recalled that former President Goodluck Jonathan set up a Presidential Committee on abandoned projects in Nigeria in 2011.
He said the committee visited the 36 states and identified 11,866 projects abandoned since Nigeria’s independence.
The reports, according to him, indicated that 63 percent of the entire projects since independence were abandoned.
“The abandonment of the project is of significant concern because of project costs which constitute a significant part of the GDP,” the lawmaker stated.
READ ALSO: Akpabio submits NDDC audit report revealing 13,000 abandoned projects in Niger Delta
He stressed the need for Nigeria to look inward for infrastructure development as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) declined from $8.8 billion in 2011 to $3.3 billion in 2019.
He listed the abandoned projects to include the National Library, Lagos Badagry Express Road, Calabar Power Plant, Zungery Dam, Mambilla site, Otukpo Dam, Nigeria Satellite, Nitel, Calabar Seaport and Abuja mass housing project.
In his contribution, Senator Orji Kalu said Nigeria cannot industrialise without steel production.
He said: “We should face steel production. If we don’t face it, we are wasting our time if you check our debt repayment, it is coming on this project.
“Why would Nigeria be suffering on what ought to have been done? We are supposed to convert that money and build these industries for debt repayment on them and save the interest we pay.”
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, in his remarks urged the committee to turn in its report in one month.
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