Edo Dam Project: MonITNG Urges ICPC, EFCC To Probe Project Awarded For N1billion After Same Project Got N500million In 2017
By The9jaTREND
A civic tech organisation, Monitoring Transparency in Nigeria Governance (MonITNG), has called on the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the recurrent budgetary allocations for a dam project in Edo State, which has yet to be executed despite multiple appropriations since 2017.
MonITNG, which made the call on Monday said that the ‘Construction of Earth Dam and Water Scheme for Otuo and District, Owan East Local Government Area, Edo State’ officially started in 2017 when the sum of N500million was first allocated for the project.
However, while the project has not been completed despite its 2020 completion deadline, it has continued to be featured in the Nigerian Government budget every year from 2017 to 2025.
MonITNG noted that the project has been shuffled between ministries over the years.
According to the statement, “Over time, the project has been assigned to different ministries,initially under the Ministry of Water Resources via the Benin Owena River Basin Development Authority, and later under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security,but despite these allocations, it has never been implemented,l.”
MonITNG noted that the project had an initial allocation of N500 million and was slated for completion in 2020, yet in the 2025 federal budget, it reappeared with an allocation of N1 billion.
“In the 2025 FG budget, the project was again included with N1 billion allocated, even though for nearly eight years, nothing has been delivered on the ground,” the group lamented.
The organisation further highlighted the impact on residents, saying, “Communities in Otuo and surrounding areas continue to rely on dirty streams for drinking water, exposing residents to waterborne diseases.
“The lack of a functional water scheme also denies farmers access to irrigation, limiting agricultural productivity and economic opportunities.”
MonITNG also recalled that the project had previously attracted the attention of the ICPC Constituency Project Monitoring Group.
“This project was previously monitored by the ICPC Constituency Project Monitoring Group, highlighting early concerns about accountability.
“Yet, despite oversight and repeated budget allocations, the project keeps reappearing year after year without implementation,” MonITNG said.
The group questioned the recurring allocations, saying, “This raises critical questions: why does the same project continue to resurface without progress, and who benefits from this cycle of repeated funding?
“It is unacceptable that citizens remain deprived while billions of naira are earmarked for a project that exists only on paper.”
Calling for urgent intervention and investigation, MonITNG insisted that anti-corruption agencies must act.
“ICPC and EFCC must urgently investigate this project, track all allocations from 2017 to 2025, and determine why it has never been executed. Those responsible for the persistent failure to deliver must be held accountable.”
MonITNG, which stressed the wider implications for governance and accountability, said, “This case is a stark reminder that Nigerians deserve functional infrastructure, safe drinking water, and irrigation access, not recycled budget provisions that fail communities year after year.
“Intervention by ICPC and EFCC is critical to ensure transparency, accountability, and justice, and to stop the cycle of phantom projects that continue to waste taxpayers’ money while citizens suffer.”
