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Nigeria: Anenih Blames Bad Roads On Obasanjo
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Vanguard (Lagos)
26 June 2008
Posted to the web 26 June 2008
Emmanuel Aziken
Lagos
FORMER Minister of Works, Chief Tony Anenih, yesterday blamed the poor state of Nigerian roads on lack of funding by the Obasanjo administration which he accused of turning down his proposals for workable initiatives to boost the state of Nigerian roads.
Appearing before the Senate Ad-hoc Committee, Anenih decried the spate of attacks on his person on the allegation that he expended N125 billion.
Anenih also blamed National Assembly members for importing road projects into the budget but exonerated himself and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar from blame in the demolition of toll gates by the Obasanjo administration. He regretted that the demolition of the toll gates denied the Federal Government a viable means of revenue.
Anenih who testified for two hours and twenty six minutes submitted that the solution to the poor state of the nation's highways was in allowing private sector participation in the building and running of the roadways.
Besides Anenih, his successors in office including Colonel Garba Ali Madaki and Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe also testified before the Senate Committee.
Anenih was supported in his appearance by several of his political associates including Senators Odion Ugbesia and Yisa Braimah. Also present were former Senators Ifeanyi Araraume and Isaiah Balat and serving members of the House of Representatives from Edo State including Mr. Patrick Obahiagbon (PDP, Oredo Federal Constituency).
Following the presentation of his written submission, panel members challenged Anenih who they repeatedly adored as leader.
"You know I don't talk, I don't talk. If I am with somebody who talks, maybe I would have said more nasty things which an elderly person like me should not say, but I have blood running through my veins.
You heard me saying that even highly educated people, people who are Governors, they talk nonsense at times without verifying their sources of information. The anger is not against the Committee and not against the Senate, but I expressed my anger generally up to the point of me taking a Governor to the court.
He knew he was telling lies. Why did he go to the Oba of Benin to beg?" Anenih said in reference to the allegation by former Governor Orji Kalu of Abia State that he expended N300 billion as Minister.
On the problems of Nigerian roads, Anenih said: "The government must be ready for proper planning. Before a road is awarded, the money is there, the contractor knows when to start, the ministry knows when to pay."
Anenih who admitted that the Benin-Ore road was due for proper reconstruction, in decrying allegations of misappropriation levelled at him, cited the 2001 report of the Auditor-General of the Federation (AuGF) which he claimed was written for the Auditor-General by the then Anambra State Secretary of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP).
"I want to put on record that either 2001 or 2002 there was an audit report on the Ministry of Works and some other ministries, incidentally prepared by somebody from Anambra State, and we later found out when a minister from the eastern state wanted to know the name of the Auditor that prepared the report we found that it was the state secretary of the ANPP and that report was rejected in totality.
Maybe, that is the one the new Auditor found in his file and he came here to start writing about.
"Historically in Nigeria, past administrations relied upon development plans spanning over a number of years to achieve planned road programmes. This ensured that road programmes once admitted into the rolling plan were executed to completion.
"However, the rolling plan concept was replaced with a Presidential Policy Advisory Committee Report during Obasanjo's administration. The main thrust of the report was to rehabilitate and maintain all federal highways to ensure an all-year-round usability.
It also advocated a road reform programme that would have created a National Road Board and the establishment of a sustainable road fund, whose sources of funding were from highway tolls, vehicle taxes, trucks weigh-bridge and parking fees, and petroleum tax element (as collected by the defunct PTF).
"All these were to be put in place within 100 days of the coming into being of the administration. However, this was not done."
Denies spending N400bn on roads
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"I have said that I will not engage in frivolous diversions and that I would concentrate on those issues that are relevant to the success of your all-important assignment. I am committed to this line of thought but let me quickly state that the celebrated N300 billion or N400 billion, alleged by some individuals to have been spent by me while I was in the Ministry, is not only a figment of their imagination but deliberate mischief.
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The level of patriotism of the recent past senate as well as the present senate which demonstrates how TRIBALISM controls the Nigerian polity is depicted in this revelation by chief Anenih. Chief Anenih points out how the former senate delayed some of the contracts for over two years by delibrately delaying payment to the contractors leading to not only delays in contract completion but in increased costs causing great inconvinience to the citizens and inflating very unnecessarily the cost of these projects. It was also pointed out by Gov. Liyel Imoke how the former senate during President Obasanjo's... [Read Full Text]
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