The Senate Committee on States and Local Governments on Wednesday rebuked Management team of the Border Communities Development Agency ( BCDA) over what they viewed as a plot to deceive them on controversial N3.626billion capital projects the agency proposed for the 2020 fiscal year.
Executive Secretary of the agency, Captain Junaid Abdullahi, had in a budget defence session enumerated the various capital projects to be executed with N3.626billion capital component of its 2020 budget. He was however silent on the locations of the various projects.
Vice-Chairman of the Committee, Senator Francis Ezenwa ( PDP Imo East), took exception to the listing of the projects without locations and told Captain Abdullahi that his action was deliberate and unacceptable.
He said: “Mr Chairman, from the paper before us, indicating that locations are not indicated for many of the capital projects proposed here, there is no way this can be acceptable. I will suggest they make a representation with the required detailed information.”
Chairman of the Committee, Senator Lekan Mustapha ( APC Ogun East ) spoke in the same vein and asked the Executive Secretary of the BCDA to furnish it with a detailed list of the locations within 24 hours.
“You will have to do this within 24 hours, that is, between today and tomorrow if you want the capital component of your 2020 budget to be captured.
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“There is no alternative for the agency on this unacceptable ommissions than to supply the required information latest within the stated period because, in line with time table already set by both chambers of the National Assembly, every committee is expected to submit report on budgetary proposals of agencies under it to the Appropriation Committee latest by Tuesday, 29th October 2019.”
In his contribution, another member of the Committee, Senator Hassan Mohammed Gusau ( PDP Zamfara Central), said the required information must be supplied by Captain Abdullahi.
“The matter on the ground , requires you and other top management officials, to tell your spouses not to disturb you at this critical time, or else, the agency’s capital budget, will suffer for it.”
The BCDA boss assured the Committee to comply with the directive within the stated period.
He, however, claimed that the omissions were not intentional but typographical.
Some of the capital projects to be executed with N3.626bn capital component of its 2020 budget without locations included supply of Equipment /Furnishing of Skills Acquisition Training Centre N17million, Provision of 1NO. 5M3/H Water Treatment Plants N17million, Procurement of 5MVA, 66KV, 300KVA, 33KV and 500KVA, 33/415 Transformers N43million.
Others were the construction of a block of Six Classrooms with Headmaster / Staff Offices, Toilet Water Borehole and Overhead Tank N42million, Construction of 2no Solar Powered Boreholes /Provision for Micro Cluster Farming for Cultivation of Fish, Vegetables and Fruits and Provision of 4 Hectares, Tree Shelter Belt N 50million, among others.
and then