Reps pass bill on establishment of independent project monitoring agency

The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed, through Second Reading, a bill seeking to establish the National Independent Project and Monitoring Agency (NIPMA) to ensure transparency, accountability, and effective monitoring and evaluation of public projects across the country.

 

Sponsored by Hon. Chinedu Emeka Martins, the proposed legislation aims to ensThe House of Representatives on Wednesday passed, through Second Reading, a bill seeking to establish the National Independent Project and Monitoring Agency (NIPMA) to ensure transparency, accountability, and effective monitoring and evaluation of public projects across the country.

 

Sponsored by Hon. Chinedu Emeka Martins, the proposed legislation aims to ensure that projects are executed to standard, within budget, and within the stipulated timeframe.

 

When established, the Agency will conduct independent oversight to eliminate collusion, reinforce accountability, and significantly reduce the prevalence of abandoned projects.

 

The proposed legislation also seeks to detect inflated project costs early and ensure value for money, potentially saving the nation billions of naira annually through effective monitoring.

 

In a lead debate on the general principles of the bill, the sponsor, Hon. Martins, noted that despite the National Assembly appropriating trillions of naira for capital projects each year, the outcomes have been disheartening.

 

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“You will agree with me that, year after year, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria presents an Appropriation Bill to this Honourable House, detailing capital expenditures running into trillions of naira for the execution of developmental projects across the country.

 

“These projects are domiciled in various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) and implemented by contractors who are issued letters of award in accordance with the procedures outlined in the Public Procurement Act of 2007.

 

“However, Mr. Speaker and Honourable Colleagues, the reality on the ground paints a distressing picture. Across the country, we encounter the scars of abandoned, substandard, or poorly executed projects by MDAs.

 

“This is not only wasteful; it is unacceptable. One of the major contributors to this failure is the absence of an independent, transparent, and credible monitoring system for the execution of projects by MDAs.

 

“Mr. Speaker and Honourable Colleagues, you will agree with me that the same MDAs that award these contracts are also responsible for monitoring their execution.

 

“This arrangement is inherently defective. As the saying goes, you cannot be a judge in your own case. This model of self-supervision breeds inefficiency, fosters compromise, and enables contractors to cut corners — a major reason for the numerous abandoned projects while billions of naira remain unaccounted for,” he said.

 

The lawmaker stated that it is in response to this glaring governance gap that he is sponsoring the bill for the establishment of NIPMA, a statutory institution solely mandated to monitor, track, and report on the implementation status of all federally funded projects across the country.

 

“The advantages of this bill are far-reaching. With NIPMA in place, we can ensure that projects are executed to standard, within budget, and within stipulated timeframes. Independent oversight will eliminate collusion, reinforce accountability, and significantly reduce the trend of abandoned projects.

 

“The establishment of the Agency will create employment opportunities for engineers, auditors, quantity surveyors, data analysts, and other professionals. It will also stimulate local economies in project-hosting communities.

 

“Effective monitoring will detect inflated project costs early and ensure value for money, saving the nation billions of naira annually. Citizens will regain trust in government when they see that public funds are being transparently and judiciously utilized.

 

“When infrastructure projects are properly implemented, they catalyze commerce, attract investment, and promote national development, thereby expanding the economy and reducing poverty.

 

“Mr. Speaker and Honourable Colleagues, should this Bill be passed into law, the National Independent Project Monitoring Agency will not conflict with existing institutions such as the Bureau of Public Procurement or the Office of the Auditor-General. Rather, it will complement them by addressing the urgent need for real-time, on-the-ground monitoring of capital projects.

 

“This Bill is timely, necessary, and ultimately in the best interest of the Nigerian people. Therefore, I respectfully urge this Honourable House to lend its full support to this vital legislative proposal and allow it to be read a second time, to ensure that resources appropriated by this House genuinely serve the people of Nigeria,” he added.ure that projects are executed to standard, within budget, and within the stipulated timeframe.

 

When established, the Agency will conduct independent oversight to eliminate collusion, reinforce accountability, and significantly reduce the prevalence of abandoned projects.

 

The proposed legislation also seeks to detect inflated project costs early and ensure value for money, potentially saving the nation billions of naira annually through effective monitoring.

 

In a lead debate on the general principles of the bill, the sponsor, Hon. Martins, noted that despite the National Assembly appropriating trillions of naira for capital projects each year, the outcomes have been disheartening.

 

“You will agree with me that, year after year, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria presents an Appropriation Bill to this Honourable House, detailing capital expenditures running into trillions of naira for the execution of developmental projects across the country.

 

“These projects are domiciled in various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) and implemented by contractors who are issued letters of award in accordance with the procedures outlined in the Public Procurement Act of 2007.

 

“However, Mr. Speaker and Honourable Colleagues, the reality on the ground paints a distressing picture. Across the country, we encounter the scars of abandoned, substandard, or poorly executed projects by MDAs.

 

“This is not only wasteful; it is unacceptable. One of the major contributors to this failure is the absence of an independent, transparent, and credible monitoring system for the execution of projects by MDAs.

 

“Mr. Speaker and Honourable Colleagues, you will agree with me that the same MDAs that award these contracts are also responsible for monitoring their execution.

 

“This arrangement is inherently defective. As the saying goes, you cannot be a judge in your own case. This model of self-supervision breeds inefficiency, fosters compromise, and enables contractors to cut corners — a major reason for the numerous abandoned projects while billions of naira remain unaccounted for,” he said.

 

The lawmaker stated that it is in response to this glaring governance gap that he is sponsoring the bill for the establishment of NIPMA, a statutory institution solely mandated to monitor, track, and report on the implementation status of all federally funded projects across the country.

 

“The advantages of this bill are far-reaching. With NIPMA in place, we can ensure that projects are executed to standard, within budget, and within stipulated timeframes. Independent oversight will eliminate collusion, reinforce accountability, and significantly reduce the trend of abandoned projects.

 

“The establishment of the Agency will create employment opportunities for engineers, auditors, quantity surveyors, data analysts, and other professionals. It will also stimulate local economies in project-hosting communities.

 

“Effective monitoring will detect inflated project costs early and ensure value for money, saving the nation billions of naira annually. Citizens will regain trust in government when they see that public funds are being transparently and judiciously utilized.

 

“When infrastructure projects are properly implemented, they catalyze commerce, attract investment, and promote national development, thereby expanding the economy and reducing poverty.

 

“Mr. Speaker and Honourable Colleagues, should this Bill be passed into law, the National Independent Project Monitoring Agency will not conflict with existing institutions such as the Bureau of Public Procurement or the Office of the Auditor-General. Rather, it will complement them by addressing the urgent need for real-time, on-the-ground monitoring of capital projects.

 

“This Bill is timely, necessary, and ultimately in the best interest of the Nigerian people. Therefore, I respectfully urge this Honourable House to lend its full support to this vital legislative proposal and allow it to be read a second time, to ensure that resources appropriated by this House genuinely serve the people of Nigeria,” he added.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE