N420 billion projects abandoned in Niger Delta - Usani
- Projects worth over N420 billion have been abandoned in the Niger Delta region
- This is the submission of the minister of Niger Delta affairs, Mr Usani Uguru Usani
- The minister revealed this in a chat with journalists
The minister of Niger Delta affairs, Mr Usani Uguru Usani has decried the huge number of abandoned projects in the Niger Delta region which he noted are in the tune of N420 billion.
The minister made the disclosure while speaking to journalists in Calabar over the weekend, The Guardian reports.
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He also described the situation he met on ground in the ministry of Niger Delta affairs when he resumed office.
His words: “There was an amorphous organisation called a ministry. But there was no ministry. So, attempting to get things in proper perspectives became the first responsibility, which, so far, is beginning to take proper shape.”
He further described what me meant on ground as “organised chaos and a deliberate action of disorder.”
He continued: “It was a situation where people thought that the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs was a platform for collecting and sharing.
“That is the reason we had more than N420 billion disbursed in the ministry and the rate of project completion was just 12 per cent. There was so much waste.”
“In every state of the Niger Delta, there are housing estates of two-bedroom and three-bedroom units. They have skills acquisitions centres. Only one has been completed and donated to the Federal University Otuoke.
“The rest are not complete, like the popular East West road, which seems to characterise the image of the ministry.”
Asked what his ministry's plans for the region were, Usani said: “What we are trying to do is reward contractors who have shown true diligence in execution and should be encouraged by being mobilised further to return to site.
“And those who are in liability against the recent mobilisation are requested or advised to return to site until they get to the level of project execution that will be commensurable to what they have gained financially.”
On the East West road, he said: “It was first awarded in 2006. One decade has passed and it has not been completed. Yet, it is of so much economic and social importance to the region.”
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Meanwhile, the federal government has finalised plans of the construction of a 1,000 kilometer crude oil pipelines from Niger Republic to Kaduna Refinery.
This move was decided following the continued difficulty of transporting oil from the Niger Delta region to the Kaduna refinery due to the activities of militants and oil saboteurs.
Source: Legit.ng
