ZTE Communications of China, a Chinese telecommunications company popular with projects such as rural telephony and consumer mobile devices, including smartphones has been put in the spotlight following plans by the House of Representatives to probe a $460m project it executed.
ZTE Headquarters
ZTE which has been operating in Nigeria for a while, executed the controversial and largely non-functional $460 million Abuja National Public Security Communication System (NPSCS) project.
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Fang Rong, Chairman of ZTE Corporation
Said to have been initiated to mitigate the growing insecurity and rising loss of lives in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the comprehensive CCTV surveillance project executed by ZTE and financed with a $460 million Chinese loan investment has become a total failure because the cameras were largely non-functional, despite ongoing loan repayment.
On Wednesday, October 22, the House of Representatives announced plans to investigate the China EXIM Bank funded project.
Setting up an ad hoc committee, the House of Representatives announced the main objective of the team as a fact finding mission on why the reasons for the project’s failure.
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The committee, chaired by Hon. Donald Ojogo (Ilaje/Ese Odo Federal Constituency, Ondo State), was constituted during plenary following a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Hon. Amobi Ogah.
Moving the motion, Ogah emphasized that the protection of lives and property is the primary responsibility of government, adding that the situation in Abuja reflects a failure of oversight and accountability in a project meant to enhance public safety. “The most important of all responsibilities of government is the protection of lives and property as well as the entrenchment of security to engender good governance,” he said.
Ogah recalled that in 2010, the Goodluck Jonathan administration, acting through then Finance Minister Dr. Olusegun Aganga, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ZTE Communications of China for the installation of CCTV cameras across strategic locations in Abuja. The initiative was designed to help security agencies monitor, prevent, and respond to criminal activity.
However, despite the massive financial commitment and Nigeria’s ongoing loan repayment obligations, Ogah lamented that the CCTV system has remained non-functional, contributing nothing to the fight against crime.
“Despite this huge investment as well as the financial burden Nigeria is subjected to by way of servicing the loan, the impact of the CCTV is not felt in any manner. Rather than abating, crime rate has soared in Abuja, leading to daily reports of deaths arising from unmonitored crimes around the Federal Capital,” Ogah said
He described the situation as a “lose-lose nightmare” for Nigeria, paying heavily for a project that failed to deliver results.
The House consequently mandated the ad hoc committee to probe the entire CCTV contract, including the utilization of funds, project execution, and reasons for its failure, and to report back with recommendations aimed at improving the security infrastructure in the FCT.
Meanwhile, several reports have blamed the failed CCTV project on shoddy work by ZTE, while there have also been allegations of government mismanagement in maintenance.
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