From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee to investigate Failure of Federal Mass Transit Schemes in Nigeria since 1999 to date , has decried the failure of Federal Government Urban Mass Transit Schemes, despite huge investment in them.
Consequently, the Ad-hoc Committee said it will leave no stone in its quest to unravel alleged mismanagement of over N40 billion invested in the various schemes by successive administration, since 1999, without commensurate results.
The chairman of the panel, Afam Victor Ogene, in a statement, on Monday, expressed displeasure at the seeming reluctance by the relevant ministries and agencies, to release documents relating to public funds expended on previous Mass Transit Schemes.
Ogene, who also represents Ogbaru Federal Constituency of Anambra State, noted that “in 2012 alone
over N16 billion was released through The Infrastructure Bank (TIB), for the purchase of busses for Public Mass Transit, from the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programe SURE-P funds, under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, from the Public Mass Transit Revolving Fund, PMTF.”
According to him,
A total of 1,179 vehicles were released to the beneficiaries under the scheme, with a repayment plan covering four years. But according to TIB, many of the beneficiaries defaulted and didn’t repay the loans.
“For instance, records show that as at December 2015, only two of the beneficiaries, ABC Transport PLC and The Young Shall Grow Transport Limited, liquidated their loans. Most of the beneficiaries are yet to pay as stipulated in the contractual agreements signed between them and TIB.
“Perhaps because they see the funds as usual government bonanza. But this is where they get it wrong because they can’t be living large with our collective scarce resources while the people suffer as a result of poor Mass Transportation. The Committee shall make the defaulters to account for every government money they have misapplied.”
He recalled that “on October 4th 2016, the then Minister of Industry,Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah announced that the federal government had also set up a N25 billion revolving loan scheme to enable transport companies in the country purchase Mass Transit Vehicles.
“Just a year ago, August 2022, the immediate past Minister of State for Transport revealed that the former President, Muhammadu Buhari, had approved the establishment of yet another Mass Transit Scheme, and a committee set up for its implementation”.
Consequently, Ogene stated that the Ad-hoc Committee is poised” to look into all these developments, with a view to finding out what went wrong. Who did what. And why the people are being made to suffer as a result of what may likely be individual, corporate or institutional failures.”