HouBy Gloria Ikibah
The House of Representatives has raised concerns over the alleged abandonment of a N365 million National Library of Nigeria state branch project in Jalingo, Taraba State, nearly nine years after the contract was awarded.
The issue came to light following a petition submitted by the civic organisation, BudgIT Foundation, which accused the National Library of Nigeria of failing to complete the construction of a prototype library building in the state despite the release of about N292 million to the contractor. 
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Library, Professor Chinwe Veronica, appeared before the House Committee on Public Accounts on Thursday to respond to the allegations surrounding the project.
During the hearing, officials of the agency explained that the contract for the construction of the Jalingo state branch was awarded on 1 March 2018 to Samsung and Asosu Nigeria Limited at a cost of N238 million, with the project originally scheduled for completion in March 2019.
However, the contract sum was later increased to N365 million in March 2023 following a variation approved through the Federal Ministry of Education.
According to documents presented to the committee, the National Library has so far paid the contractor N292.267 million for the project, which the agency says has reached about 85 per cent completion.
The agency also disclosed that approximately N7.3 million remains as the outstanding balance on the contract.
Members of the Public Accounts Committee expressed dissatisfaction with the current state of the project, noting that despite the substantial payment already made, the contractor has reportedly not been present at the project site since October 2023. Lawmakers said the situation raises questions about project monitoring, accountability and the effective use of public funds.
The committee also questioned why the eighth payment certificate, valued at N65.2 million, was processed alongside an earlier unpaid certificate despite limited documentation provided to justify the payments.
Lawmakers noted that the only document submitted to the committee was the original letter of award, with other key procurement documents, including the variation request and approval records, missing from the agency’s submission.
While responding, the National Library boss said some of the processes predated her tenure but assured the lawmakers that the relevant documents would be submitted to the committee.
Chinwe told the Committee that officials of the agency visited the project site last year and observed security personnel stationed there by the contractor, adding that they also communicated with the contractor by telephone.
However, the committee chairman, Rep. Bamidele Salam.disagreed with the assessment, as he argued that the absence of the contractor on site since October 2023 suggested that the project had effectively been abandoned.
According to him, the response of the agency “appeared biased and failed to adequately address the committee’s concerns regarding the status of the project”.
Following deliberations, the committee directed the National Library of Nigeria to submit all outstanding procurement and payment documents related to the project.
It also constituted a three-member investigative team to conduct a physical inspection of the project site in Jalingo.
The committee further directed the contractor, Samsung and Asosu Nigeria Limited and National Library of Nigeria to reappear before it after the inspection for a final determination on the status of the project and possible next steps.
