{"id":95584,"date":"2025-10-22T21:30:44","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T21:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=95584"},"modified":"2025-10-22T21:45:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T21:45:21","slug":"oh-no-not-again-for-umpteenth-time-national-assembly-probes-460-million-15-year-old-abandoned-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=95584","title":{"rendered":"Oh no, not again! For umpteenth time, National Assembly probes N736 billion 15 -year-old abandoned contract"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ogwu OmaOmale<\/strong>, Abuja<\/p>\n

The House of Representatives has today resolved to establish an ad\u2011hoc committee to probe the government\u2019s investment of US$460\u202fmillion (about N736 billion) in a closed\u2011circuit television (CCTV) surveillance project in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.<\/p>\n

Every National Assembly in the last 15 years has probed the project with no executable report, amid allegations of compromises by Federal lawmakers, who make a lot of noise at the beginning but end up delivering no workable report.<\/p>\n

In fact, the project to cover the Federal Capital City has been described as an “oil well where noise is made, pockets are lined and graveyard silence follows until another National Assembly is inaugurated.”<\/p>\n

Everyday.ng<\/strong> observed that many of the cameras, cables, poles, solar panels “simple grew legs and walked away, while others were thoroughly vandalised in the last decade.”<\/p>\n

\"\"
One of the vandalised CCTV poles and accessories<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During Wednesday\u2019s plenary, the motion brought by Amobi Ogah (Labour Party \u2013 Abia) was adopted. He argued that one of government\u2019s foremost duties is the protection of lives and property and the entrenchment of security as a foundation for good governance.<\/p>\n

Moving the motion, Ogah recalled the initiative under the administration of Goodluck Jonathan, which contracted the installation of CCTV cameras around strategic areas of Abuja to curb crime, provide surveillance on suspected criminals and aid law\u2011enforcement. He noted that the then Finance Minister, Olusegun Aganga, led a delegation to Beijing in 2010 where a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with ZTE Corporation of China for the system.<\/p>\n

According to the lawmaker, the funds for the contract were secured through a US$460\u202fmillion loan from the China\u2011EXIM Bank, drawn from a US$600\u202fmillion financing portfolio offered as a soft\u2011credit, with repayment scheduled over 10\u202fyears after a 10\u2011year grace period.<\/p>\n

Ogah expressed deep concern that despite the huge investment and the burden of servicing the loan, the CCTV system has delivered little to no visible impact. Instead of declining, crime in Abuja continues to rise \u2014 including fatal incidents in supposedly \u201cmonitored\u201d zones of the FCT. \u201cNigeria is paying heavily for this loan \u2026 to execute the non\u2011functional CCTV contract \u2026 this leaves the country in a lose\u2011lose nightmare,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n

Supporters of the motion described the project as \u201cpoorly executed\u201d and lacking proper feasibility, rendering the system vulnerable both technically and operationally.<\/p>\n

Under the direction of Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, the House mandated further legislative action: committees on National Security & Intelligence, Finance, and Public Accounts have been tasked to conduct the investigation.<\/p>\n

The ad\u2011hoc committee will examine several issues, including:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Status of the contract awarded to ZTE and its implementation to date.<\/p>\n

\u2022 What portion of the US$460\u202fmillion has been drawn, paid out, and to which contractors\/local partners.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Whether the system is operational, and if not, what work was completed (and how).<\/p>\n

\u2022 Current debt\u2011service obligations for the loan and whether these are justified given lack of outcomes.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Identification of any accountability gaps or mis\u2011management of funds and assets.<\/p>\n

This is not the first time questions have been raised about the project. In 2019, the Socio\u2011Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) sued the government for failing to disclose information on the loan, the contractors, payments and project status.<\/p>\n

In May\u202f2023, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the government to account for the loan: publish the total amount paid to contractors (Chinese and local), the names of companies involved and the status of project implementation.<\/p>\n

A 2016 investigation revealed that parts of the project were in ruins: poles and solar\u2011powered cameras lying vandalised in Abuja, suggesting a completed project had never become operational.<\/p>\n

Moreover, procurement irregularities were flagged: the Bureau of Public Procurement stated that the project for CCTV installation in Abuja and Lagos did not obtain due\u2011process certification before award.<\/p>\n

The unfolding probe raises several broader issues:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Value for money: A substantial loan has been committed \u2014 but citizens in Abuja appear to have derived little tangible benefit.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Debt burden: Nigeria continues to service the loan repayment despite the project\u2019s limited output.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Procurement and oversight: The absence of due\u2011process certification and long delays in functionality suggest weak governance.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Security stakes: The original rationale \u2013 to bolster surveillance and reduce crime in the Federal Capital \u2013 remains unfulfilled, raising serious questions about public safety.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Accountability: The judicial order for disclosure and the new House committee indicate pressure building for transparency and remedial action.<\/p>\n

The ad\u2011hoc committee will begin investigations shortly. Findings and recommendations are expected to be submitted to the full House. Possible outcomes include: sanctions or referral to anti\u2011corruption agencies, recovery of funds, restructuring of the surveillance system, or cancellation of the existing contract and reconsideration of how best to deploy such a system.<\/p>\n

Government officials from the Ministry of Finance, the Federal Capital Territory Administration, law\u2011enforcement agencies, and the contracted firm(s) will likely be called to appear before the committee.<\/p>\n

The House\u2019s action signals renewed legislative scrutiny of large\u2011scale security\u2011infrastructure deals, especially those financed by external loans and yielding minimal outcomes. For the citizens of Abuja \u2014 and the Nigerian taxpayer \u2014 the key questions now are: how much was spent, for what, and where are the cameras? And, critically: when will the system work as promised?<\/p>\n

As the ad\u2011hoc committee gets to work, the spotlight is firmly on accountability, transparency and the imperative that public funds deliver public value.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ogwu OmaOmale, Abuja The House of Representatives has today resolved to establish an ad\u2011hoc committee to probe the government\u2019s investment of US$460\u202fmillion (about N736 billion) in a closed\u2011circuit television (CCTV) surveillance project in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Every National Assembly in the last 15 years has probed the project with no executable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":95588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[913,2057,7377],"class_list":["post-95584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-abuja","tag-cctv","tag-zte"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/95588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}