…. demand full Accountability from ZTE Coy
By Paul Effiong, Abuja
The House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the $460 million Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance project in the Federal Capital Territory has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to immediately suspend further disbursements to ZTE Corporation, pending satisfactory explanations on the execution of the contract.
The resolution followed the lawmakers’ frustration and angered over what they described as inconsistencies, vague responses, and lack of transparency from the company’s representatives during an investigative hearing held yesterday at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja.
Lawmakers thereafter mandated ZTE to reappear unfailingly before the committee with comprehensive and verifiable documents including a detailed inventory of all equipment supplied, precise deployment locations nationwide, as well as the identities and contact details of the 456 Nigerians reportedly trained to operate the system.
The decision was based on a motion moved by a member of the panel,Hon Ali Shettima and seconded by Kolawale Akinlayo.
In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the Committee,Hon Donald Ojogo emphasized that the hearing was not a witch-hunt but a fact-finding mission aimed at addressing heated general public concerns.
However, mile tensions rose when ZTE representative Irene Momoh admitted uncertainty about the current functionality of the CCTV system despite the fact that he had told lawmakers that the installations were completed between 2011 and 2012.
To this end, lawmakers in the committee have challenged the claims regarding the project’s geographical spread, with some members disputing the reported installations in states such as Edo and Ekiti, describing such as nonexistent.
The panel equally questioned the sustainability framework of the project after Momoh attributed its decline to the government’s failure to maintain funding post-handover.
Consequently, a representative of the apex bank had disclosed that ZTE was still due to receive whooping sum of $15.37 million as of March 2026 under the loan repayment arrangement.
The panel therefore resolved to summon the company again, insisting on documented evidence of handover and clarity on custodial agencies, as the investigation continues.
Meanwhile many lawmakers have describe as a costly project with little visible impact on national security even as some purportedly claimed nonexitence of the projects.