House of Reps probes $470m Abuja, Lagos CCTV contracts for the second time

Nigeria’s House of Representatives on Thursday commenced another probe into the failed $470m Abuja and Lagos Closed Circuit Television Camera contracts, directing an ad hoc committee to investigate the non-completion of the projects. A similar probe was conducted under the 7th national assembly.

Chinese firm, ZTE Corporation, in 2010 won the contracts to install the CCTV cameras in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja and the commercial nerve centre, Lagos.

The House revisited the probe just days after the recent deadly bomb attacks in Nyanya and Kuje, two satellite towns in the Federal Capital Territory.

While the contracts awarded to ZTE Corporation had been investigated earlier by the Seventh House, no action appeared to have been taken by the federal government. On Thursday, two federal lawmakers, Mr James Faleke and Mr Adekoya Adesegun, therefore jointly moved a fresh motion calling for another investigation.

Adesegun, who led the debate, recalled that the aim of the CCTV contracts was to “facilitate real time communication between security agencies to enhance their capacities to monitor and nip in the bud any criminal act before it is committed.”

Adesegun added that the contractual terms involved the down payment of 15 per cent ($70.5m) by the Federal Government, while the Chinese EXIM Bank would pay the balance of 85 per ($399.5m) to be repaid within 10 years at the prevailing interest rate.

However, he expressed concern that the aim had been defeated with the failure of the firm to complete the installation of the cameras and make them functional. He also told the House that there were several other projects involving Nigerian and Chinese firms that had suffered a similar fate.

The motion received the backing of both the majority and minority caucuses in the House while the House Leader, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, advised that the investigation should ask specific questions this time around.  “Who signed the contracts with ZTE? Was it the Police or the Federal Capital Territory Administration? There has been a lot of buck-passing on these contracts, [why?]? Did the department that award contracts have the power to sign on behalf of Nigeria? What is the role of private firms in security issues? Do we now farm out national security matters to private companies, foreign firms?”

The motion was passed in a unanimous voice vote and the committee is expected to begin its probe shortly.