Former senate president, Dr. Bukola Saraki facilitated 103 out of the 171 the constituency projects tracked in the state for the year 2017, according to a Kwara- based Civil Society Organisation, Elites Network for Sustainable Development (ENetSuD).
This was disclosed at the weekend in Ilorin, during the presentation of 2017 annual report of the organisation on performance of constituency projects facilitated by all the nine federal lawmakers, Senators and House of Representative that represented the people of Kwara at the National Assembly in that year.
According to the report as presented by the Coordinator of ENetSuD, Dr. Abdullateef Alagbonsi, Senator Shaba Lafiagi facilitated 22 projects while 12, 9 and 7 were contributed to the Zonal Intervention Projects by Hon Aliyu Ahmad Patigi-Bahago, Hon Razaq Atunwa and Hon Tope Olaniyonu Olarinoye respectively.
Others are six projects facilitated by Hon Abubakar Amuda-Kanike; Senator Rafiu Ibrahim contributed 5 and 4 and 1 project were recorded by Hon Zakari Mohammed and Late Hon Funke Adedoyin respectively in the year under review.
Alagbonsi stated that the organisation could ascertain the facilitator of two of the projects, adding that the ZIP were spread all over the local government areas of the state except Ekiti and Isin with no single constituency projects for that year.
In the analysis, Ilorin West in the Kwara Central Senatorial District had the highest constituency projects with 44 while Oke-Ero in Kwara South Senatorial District had the least with just one.
The Coordinator further disclosed that 10 Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) were involved in the execution of the constituency projects among which are Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria(SMEDAN), National Centre For Agricultural Mechanisation (NCAM), Projects Development Institute and Universal Basic Education Commission, among others.
He said the organisation relies on the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2011 to request for budget implementation and project execution from MDAs, adding that the executors performed below expectation in the year.
The Coordinator, however, revealed that ENetSuD has dragged Ministry of Agriculture to court with litigation ongoing and planning to take Nigeria Film Corporation to court for not volunteering information on projects executed by them.
ENetSuD also alleged that Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) forged list of beneficiaries of Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship training worth N35 million facilitated by Hon. Kannike, availed the organisation, saying it would institute litigation against the agency.
ENetSuD however, called on Governor Abdulrahaman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State to as a matter of urgency Assent to Freedom of Information (FOI) 2019 bill passed by the 8th state House of Assembly for the purpose of Accountability and Transparency in monitoring how public funds are being utilised.
