Senate summons Alison-Madueke over abandoned N20b Effurum PTI projects.

FOR allegedly abandoning building projects worth N20 billion at the  Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun-Warri, Delta State, the Senate has summoned Petroleum Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke and the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Training Development Fund (PTDF), Muttagha Rabe Darma.

Also summoned are the management of the Institute. They are all to appear before the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) chaired by Senator Magnus Abe who was on a visit to the Institute in company of the former Gombe State governor, Senator Danjuma Goje.

The senators were told that the projects have been on-going for over five years; while some have been awarded, cancelled outrightly and have not been re-awarded since then.

More facts were unveiled during an oversight tour of the PTI by the committee last Thursday when they were conducted round the facilities by the Institute's Acting Principal, Mrs. Nnena Clara Dennar and other top management officers.

The Senators were surprised when PTDF project consultant at  PTI,  Adebisi Ashimi, an engineer, refused to volunteer any information about the projects to the team.

He initially refused to talk, insisting that he had no prior knowledge of the committee’s visit and, more importantly, he had no documents with him.

An angry Abe reminded him that his attitude was unacceptable because "you have been paid out of Nigerians' money. As long as you are benefiting from Nigeria's money, which is being used to finance these projects, you should be able to give us comprehensive answers".

Ashimi later told the committee that he leads five other consultants on the building projects in the PTI which are over N20 billion.

The projects, numbering over 15, include student hostels, conference centre, administrative building, chalets and staff club.

Goje took up the consultant until he (Ashimi) was forced to give details of the projects and declared: "We need to see your principals and the exact number of projects for us to know why this place, that's critical to the nation's economy, has been abandoned. This is a terrible thing and it's a pity."

Meanwhile, Mrs. Dennar has pleaded with the committee to incorporate the PTI in the proposed Petroleum Industry Bill (PTI), adding that it's non-inclusion in the last version was a major challenge for the institute.