[Mhiz Rebecca]

Dr Abbas Tajuddeen, member representing Zaria Federal
Constituency in the House of Representatives, on Wednesday
said more than N5 trillion government projects were
abandoned across Nigeria.
Tajuddeen made the disclosure in an interview with the News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Zaria, Kaduna State.
Tajuddeen, who expressed “deep worry” over the situation
said the country was incurring huge losses due to the
abandonment.
He said that the Bill for the amendment of the Public
Procurement Act which he sponsored was to address issues of
abandoned projects among others.
“This is because, today Nigeria has more than N5 trillion worth
of abandoned projects and if you trace the history of these
projects, you will find out that they are predominantly caused
by contractors’ neglect.
“We believe that by coming-up with an additional legislation to
provide for additional fines and damages against contractors,
issues of contracts abandonment will become history in
Nigeria,” he said.
According to him, he has so far sponsored ten Bills, six motions
and presented two petitions with a view to effect positive
change and improve the lives of citizens.
The bills included the one seeking to amend the National
Universities Commission Act, to give the commission the power
to regulate the conditions of service and procedure for
engagement of academic staff.
“This a very significant bill, because it will amend the
minimum standard for education and establishment of an
institution, so as to provide a guideline for regulating
conditions of service.
“It will also regulate procedures for engagement of visiting
and part-time lecturers in our tertiary institutions.
“If you know what is happening in Nigerian universities today,
you will agree with me that there is no better time for a Bill to
regulate the activities of universities than now,” he said.
The lawmaker lamented that some senior lecturers of
universities, under the disguise of visiting lecturer-ship were
taking employment with up to six universities at a time.
“On the average, if a lecturer tries, he or she will stay, may be
for a day every two weeks in their university of primary
assignment.
“The rest of the 13 days of these two weeks will be spent
going round the country to other universities lecturing on
part-time at the expense of their original employer.
“The implication is that the university that engages them and
pays their salaries and allowances is losing a lot as there is no
commitment to the job.”
According to him, such acts negatively affects researches and
project supervision, as well as the quality of university
education in Nigeria, hence the need for the regulation.
The lawmaker also said a motion to stop medical officers in
public service of the Federal Government from engaging in
private medical practice was sponsored by him.
“If you go to our public hospitals today, hardly you see
consultants, it is either they have their own hospitals or they
are engaged in consultancy services in other private hospitals.
“The implication of this is that the desired attention and
commitment that they are supposed to put in their areas of
primary assignment will not be achieved.
“A lot of these medical doctors spend very minimal time in the
public hospitals, they devote most of their time in their private
clinics because there is no any law regulating their activities,”
Tajudeen said.