Taraba State Government Decries Poor Execution of Federal Projects

The Taraba State Government says the Nigerian Government projects allocated in the state are poorly executed.

The State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Honourable Solomon Elisha, made the allegation while briefing Journalists.

The Commissioner claimed that reports available to his ministry from the Nigerian Government interventions in the state since 2020, indicated that some executing agencies used in implementing the national budget in Taraba State as its customary for zonal intervention projects, ZIP, and consolidated capital projects from the economic recovery and growth plan, ERGP under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration have so far been observed with dismay.

According to him, it was observed that some executing agencies have been used over the years for the execution and implementation of federal government constituency projects in Taraba State for certain senatorial districts and federal constituencies, notwithstanding their previous budget performance as it was poorly executed, unspecified, abandoned or even non-existent.

He said, “The conceptualization of government project interventions as individual efforts becomes worrisome because the players are our supposed representatives who have cornered our sovereign wealth to become theirs.

“The big question agitating our minds is that the little space given them at the constituency level has been mortgaged. How can we now or in the future aggregate our collective mandate for such representatives to lead us or provide leadership at the state level?

Honourable Elisha also justified his claims with the following as some of such fraudulent projects in the state.

The grants to assist youth/widows: Youths/widows in entrepreneurship to cushion the effect of Covid-19 in Wukari/lib Federal Constituency Taraba State, with a code No, 2021ZIP1019 and National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies as implementing agency.

He called on the people of the state to be mindful of politicians with dubious character even as the election is around the corner.

Confidence Okwuchi