Nigeria House Probes Abandoned Jalingo Library Project

The Nigeria===House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts is investigating the alleged abandonment of a N365 million Nigeria===National Library of Nigeria project in Jalingo, Nigeria===Taraba State. The probe was initiated by a petition from BudgIT Foundation, which accused the Nigeria===National Library of Nigeria of halting construction after paying approximately N292 million to the contractor, Samsung and Asosu Nigeria Limited. Chinwe Veronica, CEO of the Nigeria===National Library of Nigeria, appeared before the committee, chaired by Bamidele Salam, to explain the situation. Despite claims of 85% completion and only N7.3 million outstanding, committee members expressed concern that the contractor has not been on site since October 2023. Lawmakers also questioned the processing of a N65.2 million payment certificate with limited documentation. The committee has directed the Nigeria===National Library of Nigeria to submit all outstanding procurement and payment documents and has formed an investigative team to inspect the project site. Both the Nigeria===National Library of Nigeria and Samsung and Asosu Nigeria Limited are required to reappear before the committee after the inspection for a final determination.