Reps advance bill to establish project monitoring agency

A bill seeking to establish the National Independent Project and Monitoring Agency (NIPMA) passed second reading at the house of representatives on Wednesday.

The bill, sponsored by Chinedu Martins, a lawmaker from Imo, aims to ensure transparency, accountability, and effective monitoring and evaluation of public projects in Nigeria.

In his legislative brief, Martins said the bill intends to detect inflated project costs and ensure value for money.

“You will agree with me that, year after year, the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria presents an appropriation bill to this honourable house, detailing capital expenditures running into trillions of naira for the execution of developmental projects across the country,” Martins said.

“These projects are domiciled in various ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) and implemented by contractors who are issued letters of award in accordance with the procedures outlined in the Public Procurement Act of 2007.

“However, the reality on the ground paints a distressing picture. Across the country, we encounter the scars of abandoned, substandard, or poorly executed projects by MDAs.

“This is not only wasteful; it is unacceptable. One of the major contributors to this failure is the absence of an independent, transparent, and credible monitoring system in the execution of projects by MDAs.

“You will agree that the same MDAs that award these contracts are also the same MDAs responsible for monitoring the execution of the same projects.

“This arrangement is inherently defective. As the saying goes, you cannot be a judge in your own case. This model of self-supervision breeds inefficiency, fosters compromise, and enables contractors to cut corners, which is a major reason for the numerous abandoned projects. At the same time, billions of naira remain unaccounted for.”

Martins said if the bill is passed into law, executed projects will be of standard, within budget, and within stipulated timeframes.

The legislator said independent oversight will eliminate collusion, reinforce accountability, and significantly reduce the trend of abandoned projects.

“Establishing the agency will generate employment opportunities for engineers, auditors, quantity surveyors, data analysts, and other professionals. It will also stimulate local economies in project-hosting communities,” he said.

Martins said the proposed agency does not conflict with existing institutions such as the Bureau of Public Procurement or the office of the auditor-general.

“Rather, it will complement them by addressing the urgent need for real-time, on-the-ground monitoring of capital projects. This bill is timely, necessary, and ultimately in the best interest of the Nigerian people,” the lawmaker said.

Martins added that when projects are adequately implemented, they catalyse commerce, attract investment, and promote national development, thereby expanding the economy and reducing poverty.