Deji Elumoye in Abuja
The federal government has approved the setting up of a committee to review, repurpose, privatise or transfer ownership of abandoned and uncompleted government buildings across the country.
This was one of the resolutions arrived at Wednesday at the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held at the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo presiding.
Briefing newsmen after the meeting, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba, said the team to assess the abandoned properties, known as the Council on National Capital Projects Information System, would be chaired by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning.
According to him, “The memo I presented had to do with approval for the creation of a database of National Capital Projects Information System of Government and what this project seeks to take care of is the increasing number of abandoned and uncompleted projects that we have all over the place, which is turning out to be a major drain of funds and represents a waste of the nation’s budget and scarce resources.
“So Council approved the setting up of a team; Council on the National Capital Projects Information System, which involves the key infrastructure ministries. This team will be headed by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning.
“They are to look at and prioritize funds selected projects on a yearly basis for completion. Look at the possibility of maybe privatizing some of the projects or transfer of ownership to either state or local government, how to repurpose the projects for alternative use, or completely abandon or dismantle the project and treat those as a sunk cost.”
Details Later….
