Assets worth millions of naira are reportedly rotting away at various locations across Nigeria after a planned auction by the Ministry of Water Resources failed to take place.

The abandoned items, which include unserviceable earth-moving machines and other heavy-duty industrial equipment, have been left at several sites for years, overtaken by weeds and exposure to the elements. Many of the machines are located at Gurara Dam in Niger State, as well as Upper and Lower Benue in Doma, among other locations.

According to DAILY POST, the ministry had announced plans to auction these items in a publication dated August 20, 2025, signed by Moses Jo-Madugu, Chairman of the Board of Scraps and Unserviceable Items Committee. However, the auction has reportedly been stalled due to alleged conflicts of interest among senior ministry officials.

Speaking on the issue, Musa Kurra, President of the Nigeria Association of Auctioneers, accused the ministry of not being sincere about the auction.

“Since August 20, 2025, when the ministry published an advert about the planned auction, the officials have remained silent. They have refused to provide further information,” Kurra said.

He added, “The initial advert was defective and vague. It should have invited auctioneers to submit applications for appointment to sell on the ministry’s behalf, but this was not done. Follow-up adverts announcing the dates and locations of the sales were also not issued. Everything is being done in secrecy.”

Kurra further explained that auctioneers, who are legally mandated to supervise such sales, have been excluded, while some contractors are allegedly being taken to the sites to inspect assets that have been left to deteriorate.

“This equipment was purchased at millions of naira, but it has been abandoned under the sun and rain and allowed to go bad,” he said, accusing ministry officials of frustrating the Federal Government’s effort to recover value from these assets.

He stressed that auctioneers must be involved in the disposal process to ensure transparency and compliance with the law. “The ministry of Water Resources must carry us along, provide the necessary guidelines, and ensure that both the process and the auction itself are transparent and credible. Our objective is for the government to get value from these assets,” Kurra said.

Efforts to obtain comments from relevant ministry officials regarding the stalled auction were unsuccessful on Tuesday.

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