.As Senate investigates N40bn abandoned Baro Port project
The National Assembly may pass the 2020 budget on November 28, 2019. The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, who gave this indication on Tuesday, said to achieve this target date, the Senate Committee on Appropriations has to submit its report on the 2020 budget proposals on November 26, 2019.
The Senate President stated that the committee’s compliance to lay its report on November 26 would facilitate the passage of the 2020 budget on November 28, before the National Assembly proceeds on Christmas break.
He said: “On the Budget 2020, we are working on, the ball is now in the court of Senate Committee on Appropriations, the last committee standing.
“All the committees have done their work so well within the defined parameters and we, therefore, expect the Appropriations Committee to produce the report and lay it here by the 26th of November, next two weeks.
“I believe that the same thing will be done in our sister chamber, the House of Representatives, so that we are able to pass the Appropriation Bill 2020 on the November 28, by the Grace of God.”
Meanwhile, a total of twelve bills scaled first reading on the floor on Tuesday. The bills are: National Religious Equity Commission (Est.) bill, 2019, sponsored by Senator Stella Oduah; Constituency Development Fund (Est.) bill, 2019, by Senator Ali Ndume; National Agency for Technology Incubation (Est.) bill, 2019, by Senator Ajayi Boroffice; National War College Act (Amendment) bill, 2019, by Senator Aliyu Wamakko; Compulsory Free Universal Education Act (Amendment) bill, 2019, by Senator Rose Oko, and Private Security and Forensic Investigation Bureau of Nigeria (Est.) bill, 2019, by Senator Barinanda Mpigi.
Others are: Police Act (Amendment) bill, 2019, by Senator Betty Apiafi; Federal University of Agriculture and Technology Funtua (Est.) bill, 2019, by Senator Bello Mandiya; Federal College of Education (Technical) Kaima, Kwara State (Est.) bill, 2019, by Senator Sadiq Umar; Federal University of Gashua (Est.) bill, 2019, by Senator Yahaya Abdullahi; Federal Medical Centre Dekina, by Senator Jibrin Isah, and National Commission for the Prohibition of Hate Speeches (Est.) bill, 2019, by Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi.
In a related development, the Senate has ordered the probe of the N40bn abandoned Baro Port project by mandating its Committees on Marine Transport; Works; and Public Procurement to investigate the involvement of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) in the project.
It also urged the Federal Government to make adequate recommendations to facilitate its early completion as well as making funds available to contractors handling the Port project for final completion.
While recommending the transfer of the roads project to Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund, PIDF, for better funding and execution, the upper chamber advised the government to facilitate the rehabilitation of Narrow Gauge Railway in Baro to ensure rapid socio-economic growth of the country.
It asked NIWA to dredge and maintain the rivers Niger and Benue to ensure its navigability.
These resolutions followed a motion titled, “Urgent need to complete all the necessary components of Baro River Port project of the Lower River Niger”, sponsored by Senator Muhammad Bima (APC Niger South) and 22 other lawmakers during plenary.
Sen. Bima said over N40 billion has so far been expended on the various components of the Baro Port without achieving any significant progress towards utilisation of the port, wondering why “such a laudable project with all its potential benefits would be so neglected.”
He explained that the Federal Government awarded the contract for the dredging of the Lower River Niger, construction of the Baro Port, installation of cargo handling equipment and connecting access roads to ensure movement of goods and services to the Northern parts of the country in addition to the general improvement of socio-economic activities of the region.
According to him, “Baro Port project is expected to create 3,000 direct jobs and many more indirect jobs as well as improving our roads network by keeping heavy duty trailers and trucks off roads thereby expanding the life span of the roads.”
The lawmaker informed that the dredging of the Lower River Niger from Warri to Baro had been completed while the Baro Port and its cargo handling equipment have also been completed and commissioned on January 19 by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Bima further stated that the access roads which will facilitate movement of goods from Baro to the Northern parts was awarded in 2015 and 2018 for Lambata-Bida and Agaie-Katcha-Baro respectively, but lamented that the two major access roads, Lambata-Agaie and Agaie-Katcha-Baro respectively have only achieved about 20% and 2% progress.
He also regretted that funding of the access roads had been grossly inadequate as N670 million and N4.5 billion so far has been released for the project out of the contract sum of N17 billion and N33billion respectively.
Contributing, Senator Adamu Aliero (APC Kebbi Central), informed that the project was awarded during the administration of late President Musa Yar’Adua to create jobs and ensure easy movement of goods from Baro to other parts of the North, but expressed surprise that it was abandoned by his predecessors.
In his own, Senator Mohammed Musa (APC Niger East), urged the government to ensure early completion of the project, noting that doing so would advance economic prosperity of the people and industrial growth in parts of the country.
Sen. Alli Ndume (APC Borno) urged President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, to personally meet with the executive to provide funding for completion of the project.
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