By Ibrahim Muhammad
The Open Government Partnership (OGP) Non-State Actors (NSA) Forum in Jigawa State has called on the state government to accelerate the completion of ongoing capital projects to sustain the state’s long-standing tradition of continuity in governance and prudent management of public resources.
In a statement signed by Co-Chair of the Forum, Isah Mustapha, issued on Sunday, the Forum noted that Jigawa had earned a reputation as one of the few states in Nigeria where successive administrations, regardless of political affiliation, consistently complete projects inherited from previous governments while implementing their own development priorities.
According to the Forum, this culture of continuity has significantly reduced the incidence of abandoned projects and ensured that public investments continue to deliver value to citizens.
However, the Forum said findings from a recent project monitoring survey conducted by ELIP-Initiative, one of its member organisations, revealed that several strategically important inherited projects remain incomplete.
The projects identified include the Dundubus-Wurno Road, Gwaram-Basirka Bridge, Maigatari-Babura Road, and the Specialist Hospitals in Kazaure and Hadejia, among other critical infrastructure projects.
The Forum also disclosed that several projects initiated during the first year of the current administration have exceeded their contractual completion periods.
According to the statement, procurement records reviewed during public bid-opening exercises showed that some of the projects were awarded with implementation timelines of less than 18 months, but have now extended well beyond their approved completion dates.
Speaking on the findings, Co-Chair of the OGP-NSA Forum, Isah Mustapha, stressed that timely completion of public projects is essential for achieving value for money and improving service delivery.
“Every delay in project execution comes at a cost. In today’s economic environment, characterised by high inflation and rising construction costs, prolonged delays often result in contract variations that increase government expenditure and reduce the resources available for other critical development priorities,” he said.
He added that timely completion of projects is both a fiscal responsibility and a development imperative.
The Forum observed that the provisions of the Jigawa State Due Process and Project Monitoring Bureau guidelines provide mechanisms for monitoring contract performance and prescribe sanctions where contractors or procuring entities fail to meet their contractual obligations.
It, therefore, urged the government to apply these provisions consistently to ensure accountability and timely delivery of public projects.
The Forum further called on the Jigawa State Executive Council to undertake a comprehensive review of all ongoing projects, including those inherited from previous administrations and those initiated by the current government, to determine their implementation status, identify challenges, and establish realistic but firm timelines for completion.
It also urged the government to prioritise projects that have exceeded their contractual completion periods by six to twelve months or more and take decisive measures to ensure their completion.
The Forum, however, commended the Jigawa State Government for its prompt response to an earlier appeal regarding the distribution of over 1,000 motorcycles to agricultural extension personnel under the J-Agro Programme.
It described the action as evidence that constructive engagement between citizens and government can produce positive outcomes.
It was reported that, the form had earlier raised concern over late distribution of 1,000 motorcycles to agricultural extension personnel under the J-Agro Programme and late inputs distribution to farmers.
