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Out of the three projects that were brought to the fore yesterday as facilitated by Hon. Legor Idagbo, the member representing our federal constituency, (Obudu/Obanliku/Bekwara), in the House of Representatives, I take the liberty to look at them one after the other. Charity begins at home as they say, so today, I will begin from my home, Obudu.
The execution of an NCDMB ICT Center in Clement Ebri Technical School in Utugwang, Obudu was awarded to, Kresto Paco, a company based in Abuja on September 25, 2020 at a sum of N122,841,325. The work was to be completed in six months from the contract award date.
There is a video attached here and photos of the project. We have visited the project site and observed on the spot that:
1. Two classroom were collapsed into a bigger space, from an already existing block of eight classrooms.
2. That space was then renovated and painted and fitted with chairs and tables.
3. Thirty one flat screen desk top computers have been fitted in the room also.
4. Two split unit air conditioners, solar panels, inverter, two dishes, are also installed.
5. There is also a 20kva generator.
6. There is an aluminum partition inside the room with three cubicles.
7. A projector and screen are also fitted.
Accessing the inside of the center was quite difficult because the place was still locked up possibly because it hasn’t been commissioned. But we eventually did.
My Thoughts:
Apart from other things I am known for, I am an ICT Entrepreneur. I have been doing that business for over a decade. Even with a casual eye view, I can cost everything in that room in 30minutes, but I will come back to that later.
Meanwhile, let me ask our Representative Legor, if you gave someone N122million Naira to build you an ICT Center in your personal school you are building in Abuja and you return after six months to see exactly what you have in Clement Ebri Technical College in Utugwang, will you accept and pay the contractor?
I ask that question because, as our Rep, you are expected to inspect the project and clear the contractor with a satisfactory report before the company can be paid. What report did you write for the company after completion of work?
What exactly is the ICT Center meant to achieve?
What is the utilization plan?
What was the thinking behind it?
Is it just going to be a regular business center for secretariat jobs?
Was the NCDMB contract just meant to renovate a classroom and buy 30 computers and put inside like artifacts or is it going to be an IT innovation center where solutions will be created?
Who was carried along, because apart from party stalwarts, even stakeholders in the community who you will think should have been abreast of the project were all feigning ignorance?
There is only one JAMB CBT Center in Obudu/Obanliku, located inside the FCE Obudu. Should our people continue to travel that distance to write JAMB after investing 122million in an ICT center in Utugwang?
More and more rural communities across the globe are getting access to faster Internet and using it to change their fortunes and the way they live. Tesla CEO, Elon Musk is aiming to bring high-speed Internet to largely rural areas. Most of Musk’s Starlink Internet potential customers are in rural areas outside of urban centers. Eager communities are funding these initiatives through Rural Digital Opportunity Funds, paid for by small fees on cell phone bills as part of an effort to get Internet service providers to bring broadband to them to catch up with a rapidly progressing world.
If we now have the luck of getting government funding to achieve these targets, it is only wise and proper that we ensure the funds and judiciously utilized to that end.
This is my Constituency and I won’t keep quiet. We will look at the other two projects in the coming days.
I am doing this, conscious of the fact that I have also raised public money to repair a court in Ogoja and will want to be held by the same standards.
Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.
Disclaimer: The opinions in this article are strictly that of the author, Agba Jalingo and does not represent The Lumine News or the organization the author works for.
