Every government has the well-being of the people at heart whenever it proposes any “people-oriented projects”. The people, on their part, praise such intent by the government to enhance their welfare. OKUNGBOWA AIWERIE writes that despite the government’s good intention in proposing some “people-oriented projects”, Delta State is crammed with several abandoned projects.
It was planned as an 18,000-seater multi-billion Naira multi-purpose stadium. Named Stephen Keshi Stadium, the project in the heart of Asaba, the Delta State capital, has remained unfinished 17 years after.
The Chief James Ibori administration, in 1999, initiated the stadium project along with others which included Jay-Jay Okocha Stadium, Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area, Ughelli Township Stadium, Ughelli North Local Government Area, Warri Township Stadium, Warri, Oghara Township Stadium, Ethiope West Local Government Area, Oleh Township Stadium, Isoko South Local Government Area, Sapele Township Stadium, Sapele Local Government Area.
Investigation revealed that many of these stadiums scattered across the state, have become natural habitat for wild animals and a den for hoodlums with none performing the functions that they were originally intended for.
Aside from the fact that majority of these stadiums are dilapidated, Sapele and Stephen Keshi stadiums have not been completed despite that the contract sum had almost fully been paid for.
The Stephen Keshi stadium, whose foundation stone was laid by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2001 under ex-Governor James Ibori’s administration, has remained a project characterised by undue politicisation, mismanagement of funds and incompetence on the part of the contractor.
Investigation by Niger Delta Report revealed that the site of edifice which dominates the Asaba skyline was originally designated by the Asaba community as an evil forest where the undesirables of the community were buried.
The stadium is a bleak hollow shell, discoloured by algae that have grown on the terraces and its walls. It cuts the picture of neglect and waste associated with successive administrations.
Adorning the entire stadium are scaffolding left behind by the delinquent contractor. The main bowl of the stadium is a tangled mass of tall grasses providing natural habitat to wild animals.
The blue long span roofing has been blown off in many sections into the compound of houses whose owners have gratefully seized them to mend their leaking roofs.
The outgone Uduaghan administration dilly-dallied with construction efforts with no meaningful work done until its tenure expired
Ex-Delta State Commissioner for Information, Chike Ogeah blamed the lack of development of the stadium on the fact that the facility lacked sufficient space to accommodate necessary facilities for expansion.
The Uduaghan administration terminated the contract of the stadium in February 2013 with a promise to complete the stadium in six months’ time, but that was not to be.
Aside christening the stadium, the Uduaghan administration sought divine intervention in completing the stadium, hinging the slow pace of work on spiritual manipulation by evil spirits.
His words: “l have told God that l am not going to leave any abandoned project in this state. We have been having challenges with the contractors handling the stadium. It was about becoming an abandoned project but this will not happen because it will be completed soon.”
He invited Dr. Chris Kwakpovwe, founder of Our Daily Manna Devotional publication to pray against spiritual inhibition stalling the progress of work at the project site.
Uduaghan enjoined Dr Kwakpovwe to invoke the spirit of God on the stadium site to neutralise any negative spiritual inhibition.
Kwakpovwe had, at the occasion, grabbed a clump of earth from the Stephen Keshi’s Stadium, prayed against any negative force stalling the completion of the stadium.
Despite all the spiritual exertions, the Stephen Keshi Stadium has remained uncompleted, the battered edifice apparently jeering at the puny efforts by government to remedy the situation.
The stadium is just one of several projects began but abandoned by successive administrations in Delta State. The huge cash inflow into Delta State’s coffers since its creation 25 years ago has not been able to rid its landscape of abandoned projects whose value runs into several billions of Naira.
Many of these white elephant projects, which are spread across the three senatorial districts, range from projects in the power sector, hospital complexes, roads and bridge infrastructure, industrial parks, markets, stadiums and airports, among others.
Despite the never-ending and unconscionable waste, successive administrations, including the current administration, have continued to play the blame game.
On assumption of office, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa had, in a report to state lawmakers on the state’s financial status, literally blamed his predecessor for the state’s parlous economy.
While giving specifics on the debt profile of the state government, Okowa said the resource-rich state will have to run a monthly deficit of about N2 billion, and would need to borrow to pay salaries of its workers and finance the running cost of government’.
With a debt profile of N637.2 billion owed to commercial banks and outstanding contractual obligations, Okowa called for belt-tightening measures and understanding from Deltans.
Okowa gave a breakdown of the current indebtedness to commercial banks as N98.62 billion (principal sum) while outstanding contractual obligation is N538, 601,421.50.
He said in 2011, the government took a N50 billion loan facility from the bond market, with a repayment period of seven years in 84 instalments at N1.098 billion each month. He added that the facility will terminate in September, 2018 with a further 40 more instalments (totalling N43.92 billion) to pay effective from June, last year.
According to Okowa, in November, 2014, Delta State acted as guarantor to some contractors. It supported them by the issuance of an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) of N2.23 billion monthly for which the contractors have received the total of N40 billion.
Okowa further noted that having paid four instalments; the government has 20 more monthly instalments totalling N44.60 billion to be paid up to 2017.
Furthermore, Okowa said the state has an outstanding overdraft facility of N19 billion and N715 million with Zenith Bank Plc, adding that there are other smaller loan and overdraft facilities totalling N2 billion that have to be paid.
He added that with effect from June through to March 2017, after a deduction of N4.60 billion from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) receipts, the state will draw a meagre N3.4 billion assuming the FAAC allocation stays at N8.03 billion.
With receipts from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) at N2.0 billion monthly, the implication is that funds available to run the affairs of the state is a meagre N5.40 billion monthly.
Okowa lamented that with a workforce of over 60,000 people and wage bill of N7, 437,940,015.38, the available fund of N5.4 billion is insufficient to offset wage bill, let alone fund overheads or capital projects.
In 2013, during a mid-term ministerial project status overview, ex-Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan also revealed how his predecessor, ex-Governor James Ibori abandoned 418 road projects valued at N133 billion.
The projects, according to Uduaghan, have 1,372 kilometre length of roads and 744 kilometre length of drains, adding that apart from the N42.3 billion spent on 60 per cent of the non-performing projects, N240.3 billion was spent on other 367 projects across the state.
But the ex-Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan regime fared worse with it racking a debt profile of over N320.6 billion, making it the topmost debtor state in the country last year (domestic debts), according to a report by the Debt Management Office (DMO).
Another key project rotting away is the N35.2 billion Delta Independent Power Project in Oghara, Ethiope West Local Government Area.
Due to major public outcry, the legislature constituted a five-member committee led by its Majority Leader, Tim Owhefere to investigate the IPP project.
The committee was given a month to complete its investigations and turn in its report. Midway into the probe, the committee abandoned the exercise over alleged undue influence from powerful politicians.
A lawmaker, who spoke in confidence with Niger Delta Report, maintained that the committee abandoned its work following pressure from vested interest in and out of government.
His words: “When we went to Oghara, we were amazed at the level of rot. But mid-way into the probe, we discovered that so many top politicians were involved. We were subjected to too much pressure from big quarters, and had no choice but to abandon the probe because of the people involved.”
The lawmaker further maintained that during visits to the IPP site, there was nothing on ground commensurate with the humongous amount expended on the project, save the access road to the site.
Okowa, who also decried the waste at a media forum recently, revealed that over N19 billion had gone into the project after almost seven years of construction work.
The power project, whose contract was awarded by ex-Governor Uduaghan in June 2009, was designed to generate 128 megawatts of electricity.
Another abandoned project is the N6 billion Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Lane Project with starting point at Effurun Roundabout, Uwvie Local Government Area and terminating at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Warri South Local Government Area.
Recall that Uduaghan, in 2014, earmarked N6 billion for the stalled Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lane project, but the BRT project suffered the same fate of abandonment until recently, when Governor Ifeanyi Okowa dismantled the entire project.
Delta State Commissioner for Works, Olorogun Edith Augoye had vowed in an interview with Niger Delta Report to recover state funds from the contractor following a financial audit of the project.
Aside the huge money already incurred by the state, the Okowa administration has had to spend additional state’s fund to dismantle and clear the failed BRT lane project.
Another project which has failed miserably is the multi-billion Naira Warri Industrial Park at Edjeba, Warri South Local Government Area.
The project straddles a land area of approximately 329 hectares. The project billed as a ‘mini-industrial city’, was conceptualised to boost the commercial activities in Warri-the oil-rich city.
Niger Delta Report gathered that over N9 billion has already been sunk in the project, with over N1billion spent on master planning, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and consultancy as of 2011.
An additional N3 billion was reportedly included in the 2012 Budget, while a further N2 billion was allocated in the 2013 budget for the same purpose. Also N3 billion was earmarked for the project in the 2014 budget, yet there is little or nothing to show for the huge capital outlay.
Another project, sticking like a sore thumb, is second runway and expansion/upgrade of Osubi Airport project at Osubi, near Warri. The Osubi Airport, which is privately owned by Anglo-Dutch multi-national oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) had already gulped N1.3 billion by the end of 2011 fiscal year. While an additional N8 billion was earmarked in the 2012 budget with a further N4 billion allocated to the project in the 2013 budget.
Despite these huge allocations, investigation by Niger Delta Report has shown that not much has been done to bring the project to fruition. The project, to all intent and purposes, was abandoned.
The multi-billion Naira Asaba ‘International’ Airport at Asaba, Oshimili South Local Government Area, is another project which has suffered the ignominy of abandonment and colossal waste.
For demolishing the hills around the airport, the state government signed a contract to expend a staggering N7.4 billion, prior to the convening of the South/South Economic Summit which held in the state in April, 2012. The actual cost of the project which began during the governor’s first tenure between 2007 and 2011 is still a matter of guesswork as it has moved variously from N17 billion to N23 billion, N27 billion, N40 billion and lately N57 billion.
Despite the huge funds expended on the airport, the Federal Government declared the airport unsafe. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) accused Delta State of failure to fix key infrastructure at the airport, including repairs of the uneven runways, perimeter fencing, drainage as well as lack of adequately trained technical personnel.
But the Okowa administration has not covered itself in gold on the issue of continuing waste of taxpayers’ money on the airport project. Upon assumption of office; he sought approval of N5.2 billion loan from the state’s legislature for renovation of the Asaba International Airport.
But renovation work has stalled on the project despite the fact that N5.2 billion has been spent, the NCAA has not revoked the ban on the airport.
The $250m Delta Leisure and Theme Park, Oleri, Udu Local Government Area, which was touted as a five-star project by Uduaghan administration has failed irredeemably. Nollywood star Richard Mofe-Damijo, who was Commissioner of Culture and Tourism, vowed in an interview with Niger Delta Report that the $250m project would be completed under his watch, but the project has been abandoned and overrun by weeds-a veritable abode for wild animals.
Despite having signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sacrner PFM, a South African firm, about five years ago, the leisure park which the company described as self -contained leisure complex that will contain a water park, cultural centre, amusement rides, hotels and retail outlets is yet to move from its rudimentary stage.
In fact, ‘soil testing,’ which is a basic requirement for constructing such a huge project, was not done until late 2013. Yet, the completion date, according to the contractor’s website, was supposed to be in 2014.
The government claimed it spent close to N800m on construction and beautification of the median of the Delta Steel Company (DSC) expressway leading from Osubi Airport to Oleri community, the project site.
Delta sure needs help for it to be rid of abandoned projects, which have become eye sore.
