Sahara Reporters has taken to it’s official X handle and announced that, In a damning tale of betrayal, mismanagement, and government inertia, two long-promised dam projects in Zing Local Government Area of Taraba State — the Monkin Earth Dam and the Small Earth Dam at Sabo Pegi — remain nothing but barren land and broken promises, despite a staggering N209 million in federal disbursements.
A recent field investigation by MonITNG, a civic tech platform committed to promoting transparency and accountability in public service delivery, uncovered chilling evidence of total abandonment at both sites.
Monkin Earth Dam: N134 Million Spent, Nothing to Show
Located in Monkin Ward, the Monkin Earth Dam has appeared repeatedly in the national budget for over three years. It was allocated N89 million in the 2024 budget alone, with cumulative disbursements reaching N134,404,507.36 — yet the site remains untouched.
There are no machines, no workforce, and no visible construction — just overgrown land and the deep disappointment of a community whose dreams of irrigation, clean water, and improved livelihoods have been dashed.
Financial data from GovSpend.ng reveals a trail of transactions:
December 30, 2019: N49,761,904.76 paid to Crestline Services Ltd.
June 9, 2020: N34,848,844.76 paid to the same company.
June 30, 2023: N42,153,407.84 transferred again to Crestline.
February 13, 2023: N7,640,350.00 paid to Tech-Consultants International Associates Ltd. for consultancy.
Despite these hefty payments, the only thing standing at the site is a profound silence — and the mounting anger of neglected citizens.
Sabo Pegi: A Shallow Pit and N75 Million Gone
In Sabo Pegi, the story is tragically familiar. Here, a so-called Small Earth Dam project was awarded to Dan-Omar Nig. Ltd., with N75,249,867.60 disbursed in two tranches on March 26 and April 14, 2022.
But two years later, the site holds nothing but a shallow excavation. No signage, no equipment, no workers — only the bitter memory of a promise unfulfilled.
These ghost projects are more than administrative failures; they are a brutal betrayal of trust. In communities where access to water determines survival, these dams were meant to change lives — fueling agriculture, easing the domestic water burden, and ensuring food security.
Instead, they have become grave markers of Nigeria’s corruption culture.
MonITNG Demands Justice
Speaking after their field assessments, MonITNG condemned the abandonment as a glaring example of state failure.
> “This is not just about a failed dam. It is about the mismanagement of public funds and the betrayal of a community’s trust,” the organisation said.
> “In places like Sabo Pegi, water is life — it sustains crops, supports livestock, and eases the burden on women and children who trek miles daily for water. When projects like this are abandoned, what’s lost isn’t just infrastructure — it’s development, dignity, and time.”
The organisation called for immediate intervention by anti-corruption and regulatory agencies such as the ICPC, EFCC, and the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to:
Investigate the stalled projects.
Hold contractors accountable.
Recover misused funds.
Resume and complete construction without further delay.
“This is a test — not just of governance, but of national integrity,” MonITNG stressed. “The people of Monkin and Sabo Pegi deserve more than apologies and empty speeches. They deserve clean water. They deserve fulfilled promises. They deserve a government that works for them, not one that bleeds them dry.”
They further called for a robust, transparent monitoring system for all publicly funded projects and urged citizens to be involved in demanding delivery.
> “Public funds have been released. Now the work must be done.”
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