October 23, (THEWILL) – The Federal Character Commission (FCC) is to commence a nationwide infrastructure audit to ascertain the level of completion of ongoing and abandoned projects in the country.
The FCC executive chairman, Mrs. Muheebat Dankaka, made this known in Abuja at the opening of a two-day sensitization and public enlightenment on socio-economic amenities and infrastructural facilities.
The event brought together stakeholders from government ministries, department and agencies to brainstorm on integration and balanced development of the country.
Dankaka said the project audit is to enable the commission achieve its mandate of ensuring fairness and equitable distribution of the nation’s resources.
She said: “In putting the framework for the actualisation of the tenets of the spread of infrastructure, the Commission will soon commence a nationwide infrastructure audit for all on-going and abandoned projects in all regions with the view to ascertain and verify its importance and level of completion.
“The commission has recently intensified its efforts for the actualisation of the mandate on socio-economic and infrastructural facilities as it is believed that its conscious implementation will impact more positively on the lives of every citizen and resident of the country.
“Inadequate data on infrastructural distribution and spread of socio-economic projects in Nigeria has made it difficult to appraise even distribution of projects and programmes.
“The commission has the constitutional mandate to monitor the equitable allocation and distribution of projects and programmes, to ensure compliance, equity and fairness within the federation and evaluate the spread of socio-economic activities as represented by the location of projects in Nigeria.
“Such development programmes and projects include schools, hospitals, dams, road networks and power projects among others.”
She explained that “increasing collaboration with government agencies responsible for providing Socio-Economic Amenities and Infrastructural facilities. Various MDAs such as the Ministry of Transport, Education, Health, Works, Power and Housing, the Bureau of Statistics, Budget Office of the Federation, and other ad-hoc intervention programs of Government are now working closely with us on the need to imbibe the spirit on Federal Character as they embark on Capital Projects across the country.
“It is in that regard that when I assumed office and visited the Minister for Budget and National Planning our request for inclusion and involvement in bilateral budget discussions with MDAs in the annual budget defence process was approved.”
In his speech, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, urged the participants to come up with resolutions that would enable the federal government meet the yearnings of Nigerians and improve their standard of living.
“The workshop should therefore come up with concrete resolutions to guide the Federal Government to further ensure equity in the distribution of infrastructural facilities and social amenities in the country,” he said.
Mustapha, who was represented by the permanent secretary (general services), Dr. Maurice Mbaeri, charged the commission to move to action and commence in earnest the monitoring of projects across all sectors.
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