By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The Senate has passed a Bill to prosecute leaders who fail to complete abandoned project in any part of Nigeria.
The Bill scaled second reading in the Senate on Wednesday.
The bill titled: “Compulsory Development Planning and Project Continuity Bill, 2021” was sponsored by Senator Jibrin Barau (APC, Kano North).
Barau said the bill seeks to make development planning compulsory for all tiers of government.
He added that it seeks to make provisions for each of the governments of the Federation to establish and maintain project implementation plans for projects within their jurisdiction from inception to conclusion.
Barau lamented that the non-completion of projects and lack of continuity in government programmes and policies are largely responsible for Nigeria’s lagging economic and infrastructural development.
The Vanguard reports that the lawmaker recalled that as at June, 2011, the Presidential Projects Assessment committee led by Architect Ibrahim Bunu, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, had reported that there are 11,886 abandoned federal and state government projects across Nigeria which requires N7.78 trillion to complete.
Baru added, “this Bill provides sure remedy to the lack of seamless developmental plan for the nation.’
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, thereafter, referred the bill to the Committee on National Planning and Economic Affairs for further legislative work.
The Committee which is chaired by Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi (APC, Ekiti North) was given four weeks to report back to the Senate.