Senate probes $ 18.5b Abuja centenary city project
• Knocks correctional service over increasing jailbreaks
TSenate has resolved to investigate the stalled $ 18.5 billion Abuja Centenary Economic City project. Adopting a motion sponsored by Yisa Ashiru Oyelola ( APC: Kwara State), the upper legislative chamber agreed to set up an ad hoc committee to “urgently investigate the factors impeding the completion of the Abuja Centenary City project.”
It specifically tasked the committee “to review the original public- private partnership agreement and recommend amendments, if necessary, to facilitate smooth and expeditious completion of the project within a defined timeframe.”
The Red Chamber also urged the Federal Government “to prioritise the revival of the Abuja Centenary City project by providing appropriate support, resolving regulatory issues, and addressing any other impediments, given its beneficial potential to the economy and people of Nigeria after 10 years of stalled progress.”
The motion tagged, “Urgent need to revive and complete the stalled Centenary Abuja Project,” drew the attention of the Senate to the fact that the original estimated Investment for the project was $ 18.5 billion as of 2014, equivalent to the size of Nigeria’s national budget at today’s exchange rate.
The original vision for the project was for it to serve as a potential economic hub, with a plan to create over 190,000 construction jobs, 250 million permanent well- paying employments and accommodation for over 200,000 residents.
The centenary city was designated as a free trade zone under the regulatory oversight of the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority ( NEPZA), without prejudice to other statutory agencies like the Federal Capital Territory Administration ( FCTA), Abuja Investment Company ( AIC) and Abuja Infrastructure Investment Centre ( AIIC).
Defending his motion earlier, Oyelola observed that significant progress had been made on the similarly ambitious $ 6 billion Eko Atlantic City project in Lagos.
ALSO yesterday, the rising cases of jailbreak drew anger in the chamber.
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, regretted that more jailbreaks have occurred across the country after what he called a “deceitful change” from Nigeria Prisons Service to Nigeria Correctional Service.
He took advantage of the consideration of a bill for the amendment of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission ( RMAFC) Act to draw attention to the alleged deceit in the adoption of the name, Nigeria Correctional Service.
He said: “Since the adoption of that name, we have had more jailbreaks. Laws are meant to punish and correct.
If by the time you are convicted and you are sent to prison, you are even meant to learn skills and ethical reorientation and all that. It is not only when we specifically call it correctional centre, and yet we are not correcting anything.”
Akpabio added: “I support the idea of having a thorough examination of the Bill for the amendment of RMAFC Act to avoid making the same mistake we made in coming up with the Correctional Service as a name.”