From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives has commenced a probe of federal government properties in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Speaker of the House Femi Gbajabiamila, while declaring the probe open on Thursday, said the investigation became imperative, owing to a large number of abandoned or under-utilised government properties across the country.
Gbajabiamila, who was represented by the Chairman, House Committee on Legislative Agenda, Henry Nwawuba, said the abandoned properties if properly managed will be of immense benefit to the country.
“Across the country, several properties belonging to the Federal Government of Nigeria have been abandoned, and others severely under-utilised for many years. The Federal Government of Nigeria possesses a large stock of abandoned properties that could become viable assets for the benefit of the Nigerian people if managed properly.
“The House of Representatives has since resolved to help identify these assets and take legislative action to help ensure they are either put to good use or transferred to provide income for
the Federal Government of Nigeria,” the speaker stated.
The chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee investigating abandoned federal government properties, sub-committee on FCT, Jonathan Gbefwi, in his opening remarks, said abandoned government properties across the country are worth hundreds of billion naira.
Gbefwi explained that the intention of the panel “is to determine exactly how many there are, where they are located, the reasons for their abandonment and the options for recovering, reviving, and revitalising these assets to the benefit of the Nigerian people.”
“These projects are a visual manifestation of the excesses and failure to plan effectively and execute efficiently that has hampered our national growth and development for many years. In seeking to account for these assets, the House of Representatives, through this Ad-Hoc Committee is simply trying to rewrite past wrongs.”