The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has disclosed that approximately 65,000 projects worth N32 trillion are abandoned nationwide.
The committee, however, asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to act on the report it would send to it after the conclusion of its assignment.
According to the committee, some of the abandoned projects included key infrastructure, with some already fully paid for by the government but left uncompleted by the contractors.
The committee chairman, Bamidele Salam, revealed this during a visit to the Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede.
The visit was contained in the October edition of the EFCC Magazine.
Salam, who expressed concern over the alarming number of abandoned projects scattered across the nation, said the House would forward its findings to the EFCC and other law enforcement agencies upon completing its investigations.
He said, “Our records show that we have about 65,000 abandoned projects littered all over the country.
“An organisation that evaluated them put the amount tied to the projects at N32 trillion. Some of them are key infrastructure projects; some of them have been paid for 100 per cent.
“Some of them are funded with loans. We are very bothered about this and we are initiating steps to ensure that we look into some of these abandoned projects.
“As we gather more information, conclude our investigations, and submit them to the plenary, the House will forward them to the EFCC and other law enforcement agencies to take further action”.
To ensure probity and accountability in public finances, Bamidele said the House had to give the Audit Bill expedited hearing and passage and transmit to the Senate for concurrence.
He said, “What the Audit Bill will do is to ensure that the Office of the Auditor General is empowered, not only with more resources but the capacity to prevent financial crimes, corruption and violation of compliance from happening.
“If we are able to do more prevention, your own burden too in the EFCC would be less.
“So, we are working to ensure that we have the Audit Bill passed in a manner that would strengthen that office and ensure that we have more preventive measures”.
Speaking during the visit, Olukoyede called on the legislature to do more by way of making stringent laws against corruption, and economic and financial crimes.
The EFCC boss said, “I believe in the power of the legislative arm of the government. Can we get to the point where we can say enough is enough?
“Are you ready to give us a law that says if we discover that you are living above your means of livelihood without asking me to prove it beyond reasonable doubt, that it is deemed that you have stolen money and we take it away from you as proceeds of crime?
“Are we ready to say that those who have been indicted for corrupt practices still sitting on the Bench can no longer be tolerated?”
