REVEALED: N86.3bn spent on railway project - During Obasanjo’s administration

Taiwo Adisa, Abuja - 25.06.2008

THE government of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo spent N86.29 billion on the moribund railway project, it has been revealed.

However, the country’s railway system, despite this huge sum, has continued to be in comatose.

The Auditor-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Robert Ejevami, said on Tuesday in Abuja that there were discrepancies in the N86.29 billion railway modernisation project, adding that while it was awarded for $250 million, $175 million was paid into the company’s foreign account while the balance of $75 million was paid into its Nigerian account.

The AGF made the revelations while appearing at the public hearing into the management of funds allocated to the Transport and Works Ministries between 1999 and 2007.

He said that another $250 million and N13 billion were also paid to the same contractor from the excess crude oil account, adding that the Federal Road Management Agency (FERMA) got N442.229 billion out of a budget of N566 billion.

The AGF further said: “From the record from FERMA, it conceived 245 projects out of which 114 contracts have been completed at the cost of N415 billion. From the audit query by the FERMA internal auditors, N22 million was withdrawn in December 2007 without voucher backing it up. Such practice was against extant financial regulation.”

The AGF said that another N67 million loan was approved by the last administration. The loan was yet to be paid.

He stated that in view of the anticipatory approvals, the government placed an embargo of N50 billion on the Ministry of Works. He, however, stated that he did not know whether the N35 billion had been returned to the Natural Resources Development Fund.

Ejenavi also added that a total of N2.2 billion had been spent on the Rehabilitation Project of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) between 1999 and 2008, adding that the shoddiness of the award process ensured that even the NRC on which behalf the contract was being executed was not aware of the payments.

He said: “The office of the Auditor General has no power to audit parastatals which made it very difficult to ascertain the level of compliance with extant financial regulations.”