SENATE COMMENCES PROBE INTO FAILURE OF $18.5BN ABUJA CENTENARY PROJECT
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A decade following the inception of Abuja Centennial City, the Senate has initiated an inquiry into the unsuccessful $18.5 billion public-private partnership project.
It aims to bring the ambitious project back under the 10th Assembly.
Consequently, the Senate established an ad hoc committee, which Sen. Barau Jibrin, the deputy Senate President, will chair.
The bill’s sponsor, Senator Yisa Oyelola of Kwara South, stated that the Abuja Centenary Economic City project, which had an initial estimated investment of $18.5 billion in 2014, was classified as a free trade zone and was governed by the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA).
However, other MPs reject the notion that the federal government will provide funding for the project, stating instead that they think it can only be revived under a PPP agreement.
Sen. ISAH Jibrin, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Customs, urged the Ministry of Finance to assemble a group of investment bankers to provide funding for the project, arguing that it should be self-funded over time.
As a result, the Senate directed the Committee on Federal Capital Territory to look into the reasons why the project isn’t getting finished as soon as possible.
The committees were explicitly assigned the responsibility of scrutinising the public-private partnership agreement and suggesting modifications to enable prompt and efficient completion within the designated period.
The Senate further encouraged the Federal Government (FG) to give the project’s resuscitation first priority by offering the necessary funding, resolving regulatory concerns, and removing any other obstacles, considering its potential benefits to Nigeria’s people and economy after ten years of stagnant development.
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