Chairman of Calabar Shippers’Association,
Michael Ogodo, has backed efforts by the House of Representatives to investigate
the dredging of the lower River Niger project which gulped billions of naira before
being abandoned.
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| Chairman of Calabar Shippers’Association, Michael Ogodo |
Ogodo, who spoke with Vanguard on the
issue, said it is the legal duty of the legislative body to probe or
investigation any function of the executive which they consider to be abnormal.
According to Ogodo, “Yes, it is very
normal, whether you say check or audit or whatever, it is their constitutional
duty. There is nothing unusual, in fact it should be routine. There should go
ahead and probe it, more so if they feel there is something illegal or the
contract was not properly awarded or should not even be awarded in the first
place or it was over priced etc.
“There can be one thousand reasons why
they should decide to probe. What will they be doing with their time if they do
not from time to time look into activities of the executive which they think
should not have been done the way it was done.”
Recall that low legislative body has
also indicated interest to investigate the establishment of land port in Idah
and Jamata in Kogi by Messrs Van Oord Nigeria Limited.
Rep. Benjamin Okolo, representing the
All Progressive Congress, APC, in Dekina/Bassa Federal Constituency, moved the
motion on the floor of the house and was unanimously adopted at the plenary.
Okolo said then that the project to
dredge the lower River Niger was an important and strategic action initiated by
the administration of late President Umaru Yar’Adua.
He said the project which
stretches through 572km, would affect 152 communities on the bank of the River
Niger from Edo, Anambra, Imo, Bayelsa, Delta, Kogi, Niger and to Rivers.
The law maker said the capital and
maintenance for the dredging of 118km from Onitsha to Idah was awarded to
Messrs Van Oord Nigeria Limited at the cost of N10.4 billion.
Okolo alleged that the work on the
said project never took-off till date.
He said the dredging of 108km from
Idah to Jamata which was awarded to the same company at the cost of N13.8
billion, was skeletal.
Okolo said that the project had reached
62 per cent completion as at 2014 but was later abandoned.
The lawmaker said the economic
activities that could have been revitalised by the reason of the dredging had
remained in comatose, with those who engaged in the economic activities now
seriously groaning in frustration.
According to him, the safe alternative
means of transporting goods and services through the river and cargoes entering
and departing the country which the project was out to achieve was yet to see
the light of the day.
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