Centenary City: Nothing Wrong With Project – Senate
The controversy over the Centenary City in Abuja might have been laid to rest as the Senate has stated that there is nothing wrong with the project designed to attract about $18 billion to Nigeria’s capital city.
The Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory in a report: Report of the Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory Regarding the Integrity and Legal Status of the Centenary City Project and Other Matters Pertaining Thereto, observed that “to discourage a project of this nature for any reason is a great disservice to the nation.”
According to the report, the Centenary City Project is a heritage programme of the Nigerian Centenary Celebration, which if harnessed properly has the potential to boost the economy and engender growth.
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The report states: “if the economy of Nigeria must have a quantum leap, Nigerians should think and conceive projects like the Centenary City Project. There is no gain saying that the economic benefits are huge, the social benefits immeasurable, and the political benefits cannot be imagined.”
On the vexatious matter of compensation, the Senate committee stated that compensation on the Centenary City site has been paid as well as compensation on the relocation of the 330 KVA Transmission line crossing over the Centenary City site; and compensation on the resettlement land.
The committee expressed the hope that “this public hearing has been an eye opener on the whole issues about the Centenary City Project. There had been a lot of misinformation, misunderstanding and misconception of the Project and many issues about it.
“We make bold to say that agencies of government should endeavor to come to terms with the fact that Governments do not “supervise” private sector projects; Government only regulates them. To discourage a project of this nature for any reason is a great disservice to the nation.”
