The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate the $460 million Chinese loan obtained by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan for the installation of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)—a project that remains uncompleted despite years of debt servicing.
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In 2010, the Federal Government secured the $460 million loan from the China EXIM Bank to finance the installation of CCTV cameras in strategic parts of Abuja to strengthen security and crime detection. The contract was awarded to ZTE Communications, a Chinese firm, following a Memorandum of Understanding signed in Beijing by then Minister of Finance, Olusegun Aganga.
The loan formed part of a $600 million soft credit facility, repayable over ten years after an initial ten-year grace period.
The decision to probe the project followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Amobi Ogah, representing Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency of Abia State, during Wednesday’s plenary session.
The motion, titled “Need to Investigate the Rising Insecurity and Loss of Lives in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, Despite the CCTV Project Secured with a Chinese Loan of $460 Million,” highlighted the worsening insecurity in the FCT and questioned the fate of the long-abandoned surveillance initiative.
Ogah lamented that despite Nigeria’s continuous repayment of the loan, there has been no visible improvement in public safety.
“The administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, acting in good conscience, sought to tackle insecurity in the Federal Capital Territory through the installation of CCTV cameras to monitor criminal activity. Yet, despite the heavy investment and continuous servicing of the loan, there is no evidence of functionality. Instead, insecurity in Abuja has worsened, with rising incidents of violent crimes and loss of lives,” Ogah stated.
Describing the situation as a “lose-lose nightmare” for Nigeria, the lawmaker noted that the country continues to service a debt for a non-functional project executed by the same foreign contractor that supplied the loan.
Following extensive deliberation, the House adopted the motion and mandated its relevant committees to conduct a thorough investigation into the utilisation of the $460 million loan and the current status of the CCTV project in Abuja.
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