Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) Weekly Subject Experts’ Presentation was held at Hall F, ML Agwai Block, Abuja. There was one presentation made by Subject Experts on China.
The presentation was made by Maj Gen JA Orokpo (Rtd) subject experts on China, he discussed how China Can Now Monitor State-Funded Projects 24/7. The British Broadcasting Corporation on 4 Feb 24 reported that China can now monitor state-funded projects 24/7 and further stated that some Chinese developers must now install monitoring equipment at their projects, under official measures which took effect this month, the rules apply to firms that have received at least 30 million Yuan ($4.2 Million) of government funding.
In his analysis and lessons for Nigeria, Maj Gen JA Orokpo (Rtd) noted that, in Nigeria, some state-funded projects are often not of high quality due to various factors such as corruption, mismanagement, and lack of accountability. He buttressed that, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has been marred by poorly executed and unaccounted projects. “Between 2008 and 2018, about 90.9 billion Naira meant to execute 176 projects was unaccounted for, raising concerns about mismanagement”.
Nigeria can learn from the Chinese monitoring of state-funded projects to ensure transparency, accountability, and timely completion by implementing the 24/7 monitoring, Nigeria can better oversee the progress of such projects, mitigate potential risks, and ensure that the funds are utilised efficiently.
He recommended that Federal Government of Nigeria through Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) to use monitoring equipment and surveillance such as Cameras and big data analysis on state-funded projects and also all MDA’s executing state-funded projects to strictly implement rules and regulations governing project monitoring and implementation. Individuals and institutions who fail or compromise their duties of monitoring are to be sanctioned appropriately
