On Thursday, the Senate constituted an ad hoc committee to investigate the staggering number of abandoned projects across Nigeria.
This decision followed the adoption of a motion presented by Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (APC-Ondo), highlighting the urgent need to address the issue of 11,856 megaprojects abandoned by the federal government.
Senator Ibrahim pointed out that in 2011, former President Goodluck Jonathan had established a Presidential Committee to identify abandoned projects across the country. The committee’s findings revealed that 11,866 projects had been left incomplete since Nigeria’s independence, with a shocking 63 percent of all projects abandoned.
Ibrahim emphasised the economic implications of these abandoned projects, noting that even successfully completed projects often faced cost overruns of about 40 percent and an underperformance rate of 10 percent. He stated that Nigeria’s abandonment rate of 63 percent was unprecedented globally, highlighting the significant impact on the country’s GDP and infrastructure development.
The senator also raised concerns about the decline in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which plummeted from $8.8 billion in 2011 to $3.3 billion in 2019. He stressed the need for a professional system to ensure the efficient delivery of critical infrastructure projects.
Among the notable abandoned projects mentioned by Ibrahim were the National Library, Lagos Badagry Express Road, Calabar Power Plant, Zungery Dam, Mambilla site, Otiukpo Dam, Nigeria Satellite, Nitel, Calabar Sea Port, and Abuja mass housing project.
In his contribution, Senator Orji Kalu (APC-Abia) underscored the importance of steel production for Nigeria’s industrialization, urging a focus on this sector to avoid further economic setbacks. He suggested that future budgets, specifically in 2026 and 2027, should be dedicated to reviving these critical industries to alleviate the country’s debt burden.
Senator Isah Jibrin (APC-Kogi) proposed that abandoned projects be thoroughly profiled, with viable ones being sold to generate returns on investment.
The Senate resolved to recommend appropriate measures to reduce project abandonment and to find ways to recover many of these projects. Senate President Godswill Akpabio urged the committee to submit its report within one month.
