National Assembly members infiltrating constituency projects beyond N100bn

A non-profit organisation, BudgiT, says there has been a growing trend of National Assembly members exceeding their constitutional limits by inserting personal projects into the general capital budget, beyond their traditional constituency projects.

The Head of Tracka in the organisation, Ayomide Ladipo, while addressing the press in Lagos on Monday said this was observed in the last one year.

She said the lawmakers now overstepped their bounds, encroaching on the purview of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.

According to Ladipo, this has resulted in agencies being allocated projects unrelated to their core mandates, with lawmakers exerting control over procurement processes.

She said, “In previous years, empowerment projects were mostly limited to constituency projects within the 100 billion naira purse. So the National Assembly members who are mostly the drivers of this empowerment project, stay within the limit of their constituency project, but in the last one year, they have broken the ceiling. We have seen them infiltrate beyond the 100 billion naira constituency project into the general capital project earlier this year.

“The capital projects are within the purview of the MDAs, but now we have seen situations whereby they have totally infiltrated the capital project.

“We learnt that some of the Agencies have to grovel to National Assembly members to get their budget approved and that means the lawmakers have to insert their own. It is almost like a trade and barter system.

“It is evident in the budget when you see an agency that deals in technology being in charge of a medical outreach and you tend to see the connection when you look at the National Assembly members from these communities.

“You also discover they have people in these agencies that they have control over. So they take over the entire procurement system.”

She added that agencies were front to get the money which they illegally sub-contract it to another company who they cannot do oversight on.

She further revealed that Tracka had facilitated the completion of over 11,800 projects worth N5.3 trillion in the education, health, and infrastructural sectors in over 3,500 communities, currently serving over 10 million Nigerians.

While announcing BudgIT’s 10th anniversary slated for September 14, 2024, at the Landmark Centre in Victoria Island, Ladipo noted that the event would feature an essay competition and Active Citizens Festival.

She said, “To commemorate this milestone, Tracka is staging the Active Citizens Festival, an entertainment event themed ‘Building People, Moulding Nations’. The festival will comprise activities designed for active citizens and serve as the intersection between the intricate work of governance and accountability with fun and entertainment for young Nigerians.

She added that “the anniversary is expected to host a series of signature activities, including a National Essay Competition for students in secondary schools across Nigeria, with N500,000 up for grabs for the winners, panel discussions to assess Tracka’s findings concerning suspicious allocations worth N624 billion in the 2024 Federal Government and how young Nigerians can be active participants in tackling corruption in Nigeria’s budgetary process.”

The Country Director of BudgIT, Gabriel Okeowo, said despite the hurdles, Tracka has achieved significant milestones in ensuring the proper implementation of public projects, citizens’ participation in governance, and advocating for community development.

He said through social advocacy, innovation, and active citizen mobilisation, BudgIT had facilitated improved service delivery for citizens.

“The Active Citizens Festival is a unique opportunity to celebrate these achievements and inspire the next generation of Nigerians to engage actively in governance.

“While we are excited about this milestone, it is also a call to action for all citizens to continue building a transparent, equitable, and accountable society,” he said.