New FCT traffic lights gulp N861million – Minister
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Bala Mohammed has revealed that the installation of new traffic lights in Abuja is gulping a sum of N861 million.
Addressing State House journalists yesterday, Bala said the contract was packaged in 2012 by the National Planning Commission as a collaborative project between Nigeria and China.
The minister explained that while China funded the contract with N780 million; Nigeria provided N81m as counter-part fund.
He described the allegation that the project was aimed at siphoning funds as a campaign of calumny and mischief against his administration.
He said 74 new traffic lights were installed at various intercessions around Gwarimpa and other places where there was none and in other places with no functioning ones.
“Of course, China is bearing the whole cost of the project at the cost of N780m and as usual with this collaborative projects, they nominated the contractor, which is doing the project from China. The only thing we’ve done is to make sure that we provide the counterpart funding for the project totaling about N81m that we’ve provided as a territory and the supervision.
“So, it’s not true, it’s deceptive and it’s misleading for anybody to think that something that we’re getting as a collaborative and multilateral assistance is something we’ve conceptualised as a last-minute bid of a project for us to go away with.
“This is a project I believe the incoming administration should be very happy with.
“Even the pedestrian bridges scattered around the city too are also a multilateral assistance given to us by the World Bank, but it’s implemented through the road sector implementing agency recognized by the United Nations, which is Federal Ministry of Works at the cost of N780 million. Again, what we’ve provided is only the counterpart funding for supervision and initial studies in terms of drying,” he said.
Bala said he was not afraid of any probe by the incoming government of General Muhammadu Buhari, saying he was ready to account for all his actions within the last five years.
The minister also stated that he had documents and records to account for his deeds.
Reacting to criticisms by the All Progressives Congress that he was embarking on a last-minute award of contracts and recruitment exercise, Bala blasted the party for accusing him of panic recruitment.
Bala, who said the recruitment exercise was approved by the board of the Federal Capital Development Authority, added that laid-down recruitment procedures were complied with.
According to him, Buhari’s administration is free to sack the newly recruited FCT workers if it finds them not useful.
“We’re not afraid of being asked to account for our actions, because we’re accountable. For someone who has stayed in FCT for five years, definitely I must be accountable for all my actions, and I’m ready with all the records and documents that we’ve with all modesty to justify my actions while I superintended over the place. The fact that we’ve lost election doesn’t mean we should just abandon something at the point of conclusion”, he said.