President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to commission eight multi-billion naira projects in Akwa Ibom State, even as the state government continues to withhold critical details regarding contract costs and procurement processes.
Despite the high-profile nature of the upcoming inaugurations, the Akwa Ibom administration has not made public any information concerning the specific contract sums or the selection process used for the various works. This lack of disclosure comes despite repeated budgetary allocations totaling billions of naira intended for the completion of these projects.
The upcoming visit by the President to the South-South state highlights a series of infrastructure developments, yet the financial transparency surrounding these projects remains an unresolved issue for economic observers and taxpayers.
Transparency concerns over project costs
The planned commissioning of the eight projects follows significant financial commitments from the state treasury. However, the absence of official procurement records means that the public remains unaware of how much was paid to specific contractors or whether the projects followed competitive bidding processes as required by law.
Details regarding the multi-billion naira projects in Akwa Ibom suggest that while the projects are ready for handover, the documentation required to verify the expenditure remains inaccessible to the public.
In Nigeria, state governments are expected to adhere to the Public Procurement Act and various state-level transparency guidelines to ensure that public funds are utilised efficiently. When contract sums and the names of executing companies are not published, it becomes difficult for independent auditors and civil society to assess whether the projects represent value for money.
For the residents of Akwa Ibom, the commissioning of these projects represents a visible improvement in local infrastructure. However, the lack of financial clarity limits the ability of stakeholders to determine if the billions of naira allocated were managed according to standard fiscal practices or if the costs were inflated.
The Akwa Ibom government, under the administration of Governor Umo Eno, has yet to issue a formal statement addressing the omission of procurement data in the lead-up to the President’s visit. As the inauguration date approaches, the administration faces mounting pressure to provide a detailed breakdown of the costs associated with each of the eight projects to ensure accountability for the state’s spending.
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