The Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Monday, sought for more fund to complete the Greater Abuja Water Supply Project.
Sen. Tolu Odebiyi, the Chairman of the committee, said this when he led members on oversight visit to some projects embarked upon by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCDA).
According to Odebiyi, it is a time-sensitive project funded by the China Nexim Bank and with foreign based currency.
“It is a time sensitive project and if you look at the valuation of our exchange rate, I think the sooner and the better we finish this project and commit our own counterpart funding the better for this project.
“Otherwise, we may run a risk of non- completion due to funding. We will give the project the priority it needs,” he said.
The lawmaker while assuring the FCTA of the needed support, urged it to ensure it generated more revenue for timely completion of the project.
“We are going to put pressure on them to make sure that they bring in as much revenue as possible on their own part.
“The way Abuja is all the development cannot be done based on their own internal statutory funding so they need to generate more revenue in order for them to complete these projects,” he said.
The Minister of FCT, Malam Muhammad Bello, said the ministry was poised to complete all ongoing projects before the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in 2023.
“As we round off this administration, our effort is to round off as many projects as possible based on their privatisation and funds available.
“But with the support of the committee we are thinking of alternative sources of funding so that some of these critical projects that are time-bound will be completed in the stipulated period,” he said.
(NAN)