ENUGU — Major projects by the Enugu State Government and Nkanu East Local Government Council have come under independent physical assessment by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the media and civil society organisations in the state.
The delegation inspected Smart Schools, Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres, roads, bridges and other infrastructure in the local government area, while photographs were taken to document the projects and findings.
The NLC Chairman in Enugu State, Comrade Fabian Nwigbo, who led the team, said the exercise was intended to establish the actual state of projects and provide the public with an independent assessment of infrastructure delivery at the grassroots.
Nwigbo said the committee would assess projects in areas including electrification, healthcare, roads, education and other critical infrastructure before grading the performance of the local government areas.
He said the committee had already visited 16 of the 17 local government areas in the state, with the assessment tour commencing in July.
According to him, the exercise was being conducted by a tripartite committee comprising organised labour, civil society and the media.
Nwigbo said the committee had existed for more than a decade and was established to independently verify government projects and give the public an objective account of what was delivered.
“This is a tripartite committee made up of the NLC, Civil Society and the Media that has existed for over a decade,” Nwigbo said during a similar assessment exercise in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area.
He said the committee was made up of independent assessors who would physically inspect projects rather than rely solely on official claims.
“We are independent assessors so that when anyone talks about infrastructure in any local government, we would have assessed it and tell the people exactly what we saw, without addition or subtraction,” he said.
Nwigbo said the delegation was in Nkanu East to inspect projects executed by Gov. Peter Mbah’s administration as well as those undertaken by the local government council.
“We are here to see these projects as well as the projects executed by the Chairman of Nkanu East himself,” he said.
He commended the state government for the infrastructure projects being executed across the local government areas, stressing that physical verification was necessary to establish their condition and impact on residents.
The delegation included the Chairperson of the NLC Women Committee in Enugu State, Comrade Rose Ugwu, and the Leader of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in the state, Comrade Igboke Onyebuchi.
The team was received at the Nkanu East Local Government Secretariat by the Council Secretary, Rev. Felix Okoye, on behalf of the council Chairman, Hon. Sydney Okechukwu Edeh.
Okoye said the Enugu State Government had completed 14 Smart Schools in Nkanu East.
He said three of the schools, located in Owo, Amechi Idodo and Ubahu communities, were already functional, while the remaining schools were expected to commence full operations with the September school resumption.
He also said the state government had constructed 14 Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres in the local government area.
According to him, 13 of the facilities were already functional, while work was ongoing on the remaining one.
The Smart Schools and Type-2 healthcare facilities are part of the state government’s programme to establish 260 Smart Model Basic Schools and 260 Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres across the state’s 260 wards.
On projects executed by the local government council, Okoye said the administration had renovated and completed the pavilion at the council headquarters.
He said the pavilion was in a deplorable condition before the present administration assumed office.
The council secretary said the administration had also constructed a 500-capacity hall at the local government headquarters and asphalted an 11-kilometre road.
He listed other projects to include the establishment of an estate farm and grading of roads in several communities.
Okoye said the council had also completed the Ojorowo Bridge linking Ugbawka and Nara communities.
He added that a primary healthcare facility had been constructed in Umuisu community, while 14 motorcycles were provided for vigilance operatives to strengthen community security.
On workers’ welfare, Okoye said the council had maintained prompt payment of workers’ salaries.
He further said more than 500 ad hoc workers had been recruited and placed on the council’s monthly payroll.
Following the interaction at the council secretariat, the delegation visited some of the projects listed by the council secretary for physical verification.
The team inspected the facilities and infrastructure and took photographs as part of its documentation and assessment.
Nwigbo said the physical inspection would enable the committee to compare project claims with the situation on the ground and determine the level of delivery across the local government areas.
He said the committee’s findings would form the basis for comparative assessment and grading of the 17 local government areas in the state.
The exercise is part of the committee’s broader project-monitoring initiative aimed at assessing government infrastructure and promoting accountability in project delivery.
Meanwhile, the Enugu State Government’s Project Meter platform provides a separate public mechanism for monitoring infrastructure projects across the state.
Its latest listings include several projects in Nkanu East, including the Enugu-Ebonyi Border Road, Owo-Ugwuomu Road and Amechi Idodo-Amagun-Amagunze Road.
The platform also lists a bridge and access-road project in Obuofia, Nkanu East, with construction progress recorded at 33 per cent in its latest update.
The assessment team said its inspection was intended to provide an independent account of infrastructure delivery and give residents a clearer picture of projects executed in their local government area.
