Former governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, has blamed the high rate of abandoned projects in the country on greed on the part of government officials.
Kalu, who was a guest on an early morning programme on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Good Morning Nigerians emphasised the need for high premium to be placed on due process in contracts award, whether at the local, state or federal levels.
Speaking on the topic, “Abandoned projects in Nigeria’’, with other discussants, the business mogul expressed concern that most sitting governors do not want to be associated with projects initiated by their predecessors but prefer to embark on new ones to the detriment of the public purse.
“The major problem remains ego and corruption. Politicians want to see the projects as their own.
“They must learn to continue with the projects initiated by their predecessors because the project isn’t for them but for the people. Most of the time, it is all about ego; that’s why they would say ‘I didn’t start the project.’”
Referring to his days as Abia governor between 1999 and 2007, Dr. Kalu said his administration was able to build critical infrastructure in the state as a result of diligent due process put in place to guard against embarking on unrealistic projects.
Kalu, while making further contribution on the issue of abandoned projects in the country said: “Most of our leaders do not understand the difference between micro and macro economics.
“When I was governor, whenever there was a difference in price, we always returned to the drawing table. Greed among government officials is responsible for abandoned projects. It is not the duty of the quantity surveyor because they are not there when decisions are made.
“Our government no longer understands the need for due process. In government, we had major works and minor works committees.
“We had the Tenders Board. Because our leaders do not understand the ideas of budgetting, they do what they want. They do not understand that you need to have money for a project before any step is taken.”
Kalu did not spare state governors who have embarked on what he called ‘elephant projects’ of building Government Houses. He said it was wrong to expend billions of naira on projects which do not have direct bearing on the people.
“I see state governors building government houses for N20 billion. How will that affect the people? Some governors even showcase the building of Government Houses as their achievements.
“Go to the United States of America and the UK. Things will change when our leaders start following due process. Even now, I have nothing I would have done differently as governor. When people say that I stole money, I tell them to go back and see the books.”
Kalu also faulted the politicisation of siting of projects by politicians.
He said selfish interests were always put ahead of the interest of the people and eequally dismissed suggestions that the three tiers of government could work together to ensure that abandoned projects were completed.
Kalu explained: “The problem is that politicians want to place projects in their village.
“There is no way the three tiers of government can work together to address the issue of abandoned projects. And, that is where corruption comes in. Everybody will want to appoint the contractor.
“The Federal Government must hands off most projects to allow states and local governments do them. You cannot sit in Abuja and decide what happens in my village; it isn’t possible. Allow the state government to do it.
“The issue, I keep saying, has to do with political consideration and corruption. The federal government shouldn’t see government as a political party.
“In every part of the world, government is seen as belonging to everybody.’’
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