From Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse
The Open Government Partnership (OGP) Non State Actors (NSA) Forum, Jigawa State, has called on the Jigawa State Government to expedite the completion of ongoing capital projects across the state to sustain the state’s long-standing culture of continuity in governance and prudent management of public resources.
This was contained in a statement signed by Co-chair of Open Government Partnership (OGP) Non State Actors Forum Jigawa State, Comrade Isah Mustapha and made it available to news men.
According to the statement, the forum noted that Jigawa State has built a reputation as one of the few states in Nigeria where successive administrations, irrespective of political differences, have consistently completed projects inherited from previous governments while simultaneously implementing their own development priorities. This culture has significantly reduced the incidence of abandoned projects and ensured that public investments continue to deliver value to citizens.
“findings from a recent project monitoring survey conducted by ELIP-Initiative, a member of the OGP Non-State Actors Forum, indicate that several strategically important inherited projects remain incomplete. These include the Dundubus–Wurno Road, Gwaram-Basirka bridge, Maigatari–Babura Road, and the Specialist Hospitals in Kazaure and Hadejia, among other critical infrastructure projects.
“The survey also revealed that several projects initiated during the first year of the current administration have exceeded their contractual completion dates. Procurement records reviewed during public bid-opening processes show that some of these projects were awarded with implementation periods not extending 18 months. While such timelines may reflect the complexity of the projects, many have now gone well beyond their approved completion periods.
Speaking on the findings, the Co-Chair of the OGP-NSA Forum, Isah Mustapha, said timely completion of public projects is essential to achieving value for money and improving service delivery.
“Every delay in project execution comes at a cost. In today’s economic environment, characterised by high inflation and rising construction costs, prolonged delays often result in contract variations that increase government expenditure and reduce the resources available for other critical development priorities. Timely project completion is therefore both a fiscal responsibility and a development imperative.”
The Forum observed that the provisions of the Jigawa State Due Process and Project Monitoring Bureau (DPPMB) guidelines clearly provide mechanisms for monitoring contract performance and prescribe sanctions where either contractors or procuring entities fail to meet their contractual obligations. These provisions should be applied consistently to ensure accountability and timely delivery of public projects
The Forum further called on the Jigawa State Executive Council to undertake a comprehensive stocktaking of all ongoing projects both those inherited from previous administrations and those initiated by the current government to determine their implementation status, identify outstanding challenges, and establish realistic but firm timelines for their completion.
According to the Forum, special attention should be given to projects that have exceeded their contractual completion periods by six to twelve months or more, with decisive measures taken to ensure their completion so that citizens can begin to enjoy the infrastructure and services for which public funds have already been committed.
The Forum also urged government to strengthen project supervision and enforce contractual provisions, including the application of appropriate sanctions against contractors whose delays are found to be unjustified, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Jigawa State Due Process and Project Monitoring Bureau guidelines.
The OGP-NSA Forum commended the Jigawa State Government for its prompt response to an earlier appeal regarding the distribution of over 1,000 motorcycles to agricultural extension personnel under the J-Agro Programme, describing the action as evidence that constructive engagement between citizens and government can produce positive outcomes.
The Forum appealed to the government to expedite the distribution of the remaining agricultural implement support packages to maximise the programme’s impact during the current farming season.
The OGP-NSA Forum reaffirmed its commitment to promoting transparency, accountability, citizen participation, and effective public service delivery in line with the principles of the Open Government Partnership. It pledged to continue working collaboratively with government and other stakeholders to ensure that public resources translate into measurable improvements in the lives of the people of Jigawa State.
