FG yet to reimburse C/River N25bn spent on federal roads – commissioner
NAN-H-15
Intervention
Calabar, Dec. 7, 2016 (NAN) The Cross River Government says the Federal Government is yet to reimburse the N25 billion it spent on federal roads in the state.
Its Commissioner for Works, Mr Dane Osim-Asu, disclosed this on Wednesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar.
Osin-Asu said the state government had made several efforts, through the Federal Controller of Works in the state, for the money to be paid, but nothing had been done.
“As I speak, nothing has been done. The Federal Government accepted that we have N19 billion claims and not N25 billion, but even at that, nothing has been done.
“If we have such money you know what it can do in boosting our ongoing road projects across the state. We need that money from the Federal Government, even if it means by installment.
“We have seen so many states being reimbursed by the Federal Government, so ours cannot be different, ‘’ he said.
The commissioner, however, said that all the money was not expended by the current administration alone, adding that it was an accumulated sum from previous administrations.
Mr Chinwuba Agbara, the Federal Controller of Works in the state, told NAN that most of the road intervention programme by the state government did not follow due process.
“Sometimes they do not follow the guidelines on the intervention. If you follow due guidelines and approval, the federal controller will jointly supervise some of the interventions.
“We will give you the terms under which you will follow to work after which we will follow up your case. But when you fail to follow due process, you do that at your own risk.’’
According to him, it is the responsibility of the federal controller to evaluate the intervention and recommend what would be paid.
Agbara, however, admitted that the state had some claims to make. (NAN)
BEN/EAL
Edited by Ekemini Ladejobi