A member of House of Representatives, Dr Abbas Tajuddeen, has said more than N5 trillion government projects were abandoned across Nigeria.
Dr. Tajuddeen, representing Zaria Federal Constituency, told newsmen in Zaria, that the situation had caused huge losses.
He said that the Bill for the amendment to the Public Procurement Act which he sponsored was to address issues of abandoned projects among others.
“This is because, today Nigeria has more than N5 trillion worth of abandoned projects and if you trace the history of these projects, you will find out that they are predominantly caused by contractors’ neglect.
“We believe that by coming-up with an additional legislation to provide for additional fines and damages against contractors, issues of contracts abandonment will become history in Nigeria,” he said.
According to him, he has so far sponsored ten bills, six motions and presented two petitions with a view to effect positive change and improve the lives of citizens.
The bills included the one seeking to amend the National Universities Commission Act, to give the commission the power to regulate the conditions of service and procedure for engagement of academic staff.
“This a very significant bill, because it will amend the minimum standard for education and establishment of an institution, so as to provide a guideline for regulating conditions of service.
“It will also regulate procedures for engagement of visiting and part-time lecturers in our tertiary institutions.
“If you know what is happening in Nigerian universities today, you will agree with me that there is no better time for a Bill to regulate the activities of universities than now,” he said.
The lawmaker lamented that some senior lecturers of universities, under the disguise of visiting lecturer-ship were taking employment with up to six universities at a time.
“On the average, if a lecturer tries, he or she will stay, may be for a day every two weeks in their university of primary assignment.
“The rest of the 13 days of these two weeks will be spent going round the country to other universities lecturing on part-time at the expense of their original employer.
“The implication is that the university that engages them and pays their salaries and allowances is losing a lot as there is no commitment to the job.”
According to him, such acts negatively affects researches and project supervision, as well as the quality of university education in Nigeria, hence the need for the regulation.
