The alarming rate of abandoned projects in Nigeria has caught the attention of the Federal Government, and this has elicited a reaction from the Accountant- General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi. In a memo he issued at the end of July, he warned that no ministry, department or agency of the Federal Government should award contracts without confirming availability of funds.
He attributed the abandoned projects, some dating back to decades, to indiscipline and flagrant disregard for the Procurement Act 2007.
It is surprising that it took so long for successive administrations to take necessary steps to curb the embarrassing act.
Over the years, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had cried out that many projects initiated by lawmakers as constituency projects were merely used as conduit pipes to funnel public funds into private pockets of the legislators and their cronies.
There were others who meant well, but could not carry out their plans before the end of their tenures.
This also applied to the executive where there were attempts to impress people in different parts of the country. This trend becomes particularly visible towards the end of a term. Desperate to have things to report to the electorate, all forms of projects are flagged off without due consideration for available funds.
This is sheer indiscipline and a waste of public funds. The money that could be spent on one or two projects that could be completed in record time is distributed to about 20 that are thereafter dumped for so long. By the time the government is ready to execute them, variation of contract sum would have become inevitable.
Besides, contractors owed shout from the roof tops to recover their investments, thus embarrassing the government. Whereas there are adequate provisions to guide the award of contracts, they have been largely ignored as sanctions are rarely applied.
Unless rules, regulations and laws are scrupulously adhered to, the road to development would remain very long.
Apart from the Procurement Act, the financial Instructions guiding the public service have adequate provisions to sanitise the system. They should apply them.
Now that the Tinubu administration is ready to ensure that all are whipped into line, those who flout the laws should be brought to justice. When this is done, others would sit up and the nation would be the better for it.
The offices of the auditor-general, accountant-general and Secretary to the Government of the Federation have to wake up and advise the National Executive Council every year after proper audit. And, when this is done, the president should waste no time in showing aberrant officials the way out of service, be no matter how highly placed.
Nigeria has continued to lag behind other nations, even in Africa, for too long. The only way citizens could assist in this wise is by strict accountability by the government. If findings are made public and reasons for weeding out errant officials are made public, others would try to avoid travelling the same road.
Members of the National Assembly who also have oversight function over the MDAs should justify their election and humongous pay by keeping their eyes on the public account. Every legislature has a Public Accounts Committee and it has a duty to ensure that the office of the auditor-general functions optimally and files up-to-date reports.
While the memo is from the Accountant-General of the Federation, states should take a cue and ensure that they act accordingly, too.
The anti-graft agencies should swing into action by ensuring that, where corruption is the basis for such indiscriminate contract awards, erring officials are prosecuted. Nigeria has been too tolerant of aberrant behaviours. It must stop now.