Politics
Lawmakers Uncover N4bn Ghost Projects In NIWA's 2020 Budget
The National Assembly has uncovered ghost projects to the tune of N4bn under the National Inland Waterways Agency’s proposed budget for 2020 submitted to the house.
The senate revealed that the agency had proposed over N4bn for the acquisition of vessels and barges as well as procurement of dredgers and other equipment between 2017 and 2019.
The House Committees on Inland Waterways, Land Transport, Ports and Harbours, and Marine Safety and Education, in collaboration with the Senate Committee on Marine Transport uncovered the ghost projects during the budget defence session in Abuja.
The house committee listed the ghost projects to include the National Freight Office in Idi-Iroko, Ogun State, for which N40.5m was appropriated in 2017; N166m in 2018; and N99m in 2019, while N400m was proposed in the 2020 budget estimates of the Federal Ministry of Transportation’s budget line item ERGP 27102753. Adding that, Another is the procurement of dredgers and other related equipment/vessels, for which N1.5bn was proposed in NIWA’s 2020 proposal.
The Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Waterways, Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, Confirmed the development to newsmen shortly after the budget defence session.
Jarigbe frowned at the fraud while calling for immediate investigation in the alleged fraud.
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