Hall of Shame: $10 Billion of Public Money Squandered on Cancelled Structures
By Ebere Inyama
(Lagos) Former Nigerian Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has expressed disappointment that the first ever Wagon Assembly Plant built in Ogun state, southwestern Nigeria, is currently abandoned.
Speaking on Thursday, October 17, 2024, during the just concluded Transport Summit organized by the Transportation Correspondents Association of Nigeria (TCAN) in Lagos state, the two-time governor of Rivers State disclosed that the plant was built to ensure Nigeria produces wagons and other rolling stocks needed for railway development in Nigeria.
“The Kajola Locomotive and Wagon Rolling Stock was not part of the Lagos-Ibadan Rail project, but we insisted that the Chinese must build the facility to enable us to gain knowledge transfer in the area of wagon- and rolling stock manufacturing,” Amechi began in his address.
“I told the Chinese contractors that I was going to give them a contract to supply Nigeria 200 rolling stock. I however told them that I won’t approve the contract if they don’t build a Wagon Assembly Plant in Nigeria.
“That after five years, they will start assembling and manufacturing Wagons and Rolling Stocks in Nigeria. The agreement was signed, and the project was commissioned in 2023.
“But as I speak today, that facility has been abandoned. Nothing is happening there. Until we continue to invest in transportation, we might never get it right in this country,” he said.
In an interview with TruthNigeria, an estate developer based in Imo state, Mr. Lawrence Ezuma, said that corruption is the reason why most of the government projects were abandoned by public officials.
“When awarding contracts, some of our leaders connive with the contractors to inflate the cost of the project so as to make profit from it,” Ezuma said.
“Oftentimes, they award such contracts towards the expiration of their tenure in office, pay the contractors part of the cost for the project but not before they deduct their mark up.
“So when they leave office, their successor, who is expected to continue the project would be discouraged to do so especially after finding out that the project value was inflated,” he said.
Audit Commission Reported 11,886 Abandoned Federal Government Projects as at 2011
A report by the audit commission set up in 2011 by then-president Goodluck Jonathan estimated that 11,886 federal government projects were abandoned in the previous 40 years, according to a documentary published online recently. The documentary highlighted a book titled “Project Management and Politics: Embarking on a dangerous path,” by Dr. Darlington Akaiso, in which political differences existing between governors and their predecessors were identified as the major reason why most of the government projects across the states in Nigeria were abandoned.
Among the abandoned projects identified by the author include, the Ibom Tropicana project in Akwa Ibom state (a 14 storey building with over 200 rooms, a shopping mall, a convention centre with a 5000 capacity and an active cinema operated by Silverbird Cinemas) initiated by then Governor Godswill Akpabio in 2018 which gulped N120 billion ($329 million based on the exchange rate in 2018). The project was abandoned by Akpabio’s successor, Governor Udo Emmanuel and the N50 billion naira ( $322 million based on the exchange rate in 2010) monorail project initiated by then-Governor Chibuike Amechi in Rivers state which has been abandoned by his successors.
In southeastern Nigeria, 27 General Hospitals built by then- Governor Rochas Okorocha at the cost of N27 billion ($105 million based on the exchange rate in 2016) has been abandoned by his successor while the N13.6 billion naira ($86 million based on the exchange rate in 2012) workers secretariat complex built by then-governor Sullivan Chime in Enugu state has also been abandoned.
ICPC Ordered 500 Contractors Back To Work As Value Of Abandoned Projects Hit ($10 billion) N17 Trillion
Irked by the increasing rate of abandoned projects in Nigeria, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, ordered more than 500 contractors back to site to complete abandoned and shoddily completed projects.
Speaking on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 during a Policy Dialogue organized by Order Paper Advocacy Initiative in Abuja on the Role of the Private Sector in the Implementation of Constituency Projects in Nigeria, a spokesperson for the ICPC, Demola Bakare, said that ”some of the uncompleted projects not only deprived Nigerians of basic amenities and infrastructure, but also posed the risks of increased security risks”, adding that some of the projects or buildings might be inhabited by unscrupulous members of the community.
He said that lack of accountability in execution of projects was “a red flag of systemic corruption” that short-changes the electorate and deprives them of beneficial social systems that should be readily available.
Earlier in August 2024, the Registrar of the Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN), Mr. Henry Mbadiwe had during a press briefing in Abuja, decried the high rate of abandoned projects in the country, adding that abandoned projects in Nigeria stand at over N17 trillion ($10 billion).
He said the high rate of abandoned projects in Nigeria is contributing to stifling economic growth in different sectors, adding that the main causes of abandoned projects in Nigeria are lack of articulated vision and lack of proper project planning by the successive administrations.
Ebere Inyama is an Imo state – based conflict reporter for TruthNigeria
