THE PLUNDER CONTINUES - N40 BILLION ASABA AIRPORT PROJECT: MATTERS ARISING

PHOTO: DELTA STATE GOVERNOR, DR EMMANUEL UDUAGHAN.

The last has definitely not been heard about the N40 billion Asaba Airport scandal. As we mark our golden anniversary as a nation and reflect on the lost opportunities occasioned by massive corruption, we the Delta Integrity Group wish to draw attention to the Asaba Airport fraud. As a group and men/women of conscience, we are saddened with the brazen disregard for due process and the people of Delta State in handling of this project.

Our reaction, for the avoidance of doubt was actually inspired by the huge reaction and outcry that trailed the recent N40 billion review of the airport project as announced by Chief Uche Okpuno, the contractor handling the project. It is indeed shameful and disheartening that despite the unrelenting efforts of government and anti-graft agencies to ensure a corruption free society, some unscrupulous individuals still believe that it is still business as usual.

It will be recalled that at the foundation laying ceremony, the governor Dr. Uduaghan had announced in the presence of Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), that the airport, which was initially estimated at N14 billion, a sum considered too high for the government would now cost N7 billion. The governor also assured the public that the project would be completed in 18 months, as the airport is a star project of his administration.

At the moment, the project has moved from the projected N7billion to N12billion, later N22billion and now N40 billion. The recent upward review was announced in Asaba at a media parley to inform the public of the first flight which was scheduled for November 16, 2010.
Ordinarily the announcement of the first flight to the airport would have elicited joy and relief going by the benefits the airport will bring to the people of Delta and neighbouring states.

However the incessant reviews of the cost of the airport project and the conflicting completion date have put to question, the sincerity of both the contractors and the government.
It is regrettable to note that such an important project would be subjected to flagrant manipulation. One is therefore tempted to ask if this project actually passed through due process of any form.  Is this N40 billion justifiable for an airport in Asaba, going by the non-marshy topography of the area? Or are there latest airport innovations outside the current norm that is being added? Was there no proper costing and project evaluation from the consultants before the commencement of the project?  Why would such an important project be subject of suspicious reviews thereby fuelling doubts on whether the project actually passed through due process? These disturbing questions have remained unanswered. The public obviously needs to know.  

A certain Chief Uche Okpuno, the chairman of the firm handling the construction of the airport, had hinged the reviews on the upgrading of the airport from domestic to international, a reason that is not only laughable but defies logic since the Asaba Airport was originally conceived as an international airport.  Curiously, the Gombe Airport which has become a model airport in Nigeria today was built recently with about N6billion and on record time.
As concerned citizens of the state, we have every reason to believe that this airport is over invoiced and massively inflated.  

Unfortunately, there has been conflicting reasons for the endless reviews from the principal actors. For instance, in the report of NEXT Newspaper of 16 September 2010 edition entitled: First flight to Asaba Airport on November 16, the governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan was quoted as saying that the airport would cost N40 billion while Okpuno, the Chairman of firm handling the construction said, “The N12 billion was arrived at when the airport was envisaged and designed to be a domestic one.” 

In another breath, “the Project Director, Austin Ayamidejo, had in August, said that the value of the airport had been raised to N12 billion from N6 billion. The question begging for answer is if this balance of N28billion is now to be spent between August and November. However, he had given “midway expansion” of the airport as the reason for the upward review of the contract sum and added that it was for the same reason that the completion date was shifted from February to December.

These inconsistencies are however confusing and show that there may be more in all of these than meets the eye.  This development is eliciting negative comments from the public as observed in the online feedback of the various newspapers online and even in beer parlours.  The submission of most people centre on the fact that Asaba airport project cannot afford to fail where states with less resources have succeeded in related projects.  

In the face of all these issues, it is therefore imperative to ask if strict regulations and compliance to technical details were considered in the implementation of this project. We hope that all the relevant aviation regulatory agencies are monitoring the construction of Asaba Airport project and other airports across the country.  

In summation, we make bold to say that as good Deltans, we remain undaunted in our resolve to ensure responsible leadership built on accountability and transparency. The Asaba Airport project is a test case for the anti-graft bodies and all men and women of conscience.