Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said that the existence of abandoned government properties, valued in hundreds of billions, left to deteriorate, should trouble the conscience of all Nigerians.
Gbajabiamila stressed that these projects are manifestations of the excesses and failure to plan effectively and efficiently execute that has hampered Nigeria’s growth and development for many years.
The Speaker made these observations Tuesday in Abuja while inaugrating a House Ad-Hoc Committee to investigate Federal Government’s abandoned properties across the Federation.
He said the Ad-Hoc Committee has the duty to account for those investments and come up with a plan that puts the assets to good use in the interest of all Nigerian citizens.
“On the 17th of March this year, the House of Representative considered a motion on the need to investigate the status of abandoned property belonging to the Federal Government of Nigeria in the thirty-six states and the Federal Capital Territory.
“The House resolved to mandate an Ad – Hoc committee to undertake this onerous responsibility and to present a timely report which will form the basis of our engagement going forward.
“Our country presently faces a myriad of challenges on multiple fronts. We have a public health emergency unlike anything we have ever seen before. At the same time, the drop in oil prices, our most valuable commercial export product, has left us with an economy in severe decline and a government on the brink of failing to meet our obligations to the people we serve.
“I am confident that the Chairman of this Committee, Ademorin Kuye and all the carefully chosen members understand the magnitude of the work ahead.
“I am assured that they will do justice to this assignment and will shortly present to the House of Representatives, a report that we can act upon with the urgency that this moment calls for”, Gbajabiamila added.
Responding, Kuye assured that the Committee would serve as a watershed to cushion the harsh economic realities of Covid-19 by sourcing the most needed funds by consciously ascertaining the existence, place and use of such Federal Government properties across the country with a view to facilitating reinvestment and maximization of their use.
“It is on record that some of the preperties are currently being used by individuals and corporate bodies without remitting any revenue while their managers in same real instances have not accounted for the revenue yield.
“According to a conservative estimate put together by the Nigerian Institute of Builders, the value at these abandoned properties in Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Kano, Kaduna and other cities is projected at about N230 billion”, he said.
