By Sandra Micheals
The House Committee on Public Accounts has queried the alleged abandonment of a 365 million naira National Library of Nigeria state branch project in Jalingo, Taraba State, following a petition by the civic organisation, BudgIT Foundation.
The House Committee on Public Accounts has queried the alleged abandonment of a 365 million naira National Library of Nigeria state branch project in Jalingo, Taraba State, following a petition by the civic organisation, BudgIT Foundation.
The organisation had accused the National Library of Nigeria of abandoning the construction of a prototype National Library building in Jalingo after the payment of about 292 million naira to the contractor.
The Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Professor Chinwe Veronica, appeared before the committee chaired by Rep. Bamidele Salam to respond to the allegations.
During the hearing, the Agency explained that the contract for the construction of the National Library state branch in Jalingo was initially awarded on March 1, 2018, to Samsung and Asosu Nigeria Limited at a sum of 365 million naira in March 2023, following a variation approved through the Federal Ministry of Education, adding that a total of 292.267 million naira has been paid to the contractor, while the project currently stands at about 85 per cent completion.
She also disclosed that about 7.3 million naira remains as the outstanding balance on the project.
The committee however, directed both the contractor of Samsung and Asosu Nigeria Limited and the National Library of Nigeria to reappear before it after the inspection for a final determination on the status of the project and possible next steps.
