The Ad hoc Committee of the House of Representatives investigating the $460 million Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) project in the Federal Capital Territory has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to suspend any further funding of the project.
Contract for the CCTV installation for surveillance in the city was awarded to ZTE Corporation, but the committee in its resolution expressed dissatisfaction over alleged inconsistencies, vague responses, and a lack of transparency from ZTE officials regarding the scope, deployment locations, and current operational status of the project.
The committee also directed the company to reappear with comprehensive and verifiable information about the concerns it had raised.
This includes a detailed inventory of all equipment supplied and installed, precise locations of the infrastructure nationwide, as well as the identities and contact details of the 456 Nigerians the company claimed were trained to operate and maintain the system.
Earlier in his opening remarks, chairman of the panel, Donald Ojogo clarified the session was “a constructive engagement, not an attempt to witch-hunt anyone. Nigerians deserve clear answers, and we expect ZTE to respond in line with the documents before us.”
Representing the company, Irene Momoh said ZTE supplied and installed CCTV infrastructure in Abuja and Lagos, noting that the project was completed between 2011 and 2012, but however, admitted uncertainty about the current functionality of the system.
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