THE Senate Committee on States and Local Governments Administration, headed by Senator Kabiru Gaya, has uncovered some ghost projects amounting to N3.966 billion, while the same figure was contained in the 2012 budget for an unexecuted project, taking the total of the suspected phantom projects to N7.938 billion for the two budgets.
The revelations made at a budget defence session of the committee showed that 11 projects, totaling N3.966 billion, were budgeted for in the 2012 and 2013 appropriation bills.
The projects, located in the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation, included survey, observation, vista clearing and pillar/beacon construction of Nigerian borders.
Director-General of the National Boundary Commission (NBC), Dr Mohammed Ahmad, who drew the attention of the committee to the non-existent projects, said any such projects should be within the purview of his Commission.
He said the projects could not be genuine, because Nigeria could not take unilateral action on its international borders.
In a quick response on Monday, Surveyor-General of the Federation, Professor Peter Nwilo, denied that his department had collected such money, adding that the entire budget of his department was just near the said sum.
In a text message in response to enquiries, he said: “Thank you. We did not get anything near that at all in the 2012 budget. Our total budget is just near that. Check.”
Details of the ghost projects already budgeted for in 2012 and which are being repeated in 2013 included survey/field assessment to boundary corridor to ascertain straddling settlements on Nigeria/Cameroon international boundary from the North East and South East (N51,865,850); surveying and observation of Nige-ria’s international boundaries (1) Nigeria/ Benin (2) Nigeria/Niger (3) Nigeria/Cameroon (4) Nigeria/Chad; all located in the South-West geopolitical zone (N54,120,887); vista clearing of Nigeria/Benin international boundary (N20,295,332); vista clearing of Nigeria/Niger international boundary (N20,295,332) and pillar construction of Nigeria/Benin international boundary (24,805,406).
Tribune
No comments:
Post a Comment