A bill that seeks to allocate a minimum of 20 per cent of Nigeriaโs
annual budget to constituency projects has passed the second reading
at the Senate.
The bill was passed on Wednesday after the lawmakers debated the
provisions of the bill.
It was first read on November 19 and is sponsored by Stella Oduah
(PDP, Anambra North).
This bill comes on the heels of outcry over non-existent and
incomplete constituency projects proposed by lawmakers.
Nigerian lawmakers have been accused of using constituency projects as
a means of embezzling public funds.
Only recently, President Muhammadu Buhari said billions of naira
allocated to constituency projects had not been properly utilised โ an
allegation that the Senate Minority Leader dismissed as erroneous.
According to the bill, projects under the Act when passed shall be
community based in order to ensure that the prospective benefits are
available to a widespread cross-section of the inhabitants of a
particular area.
It also states that any funding under the Act shall be for a complete
project or a defined phase of a project and may include the
acquisition of land and buildings.
โAll projects shall be projects as defined under this Act when passed
and may include costs related to feasibility studies, planning and
design or other technical input for the project but shall not include
recurrent costs of a facility and;
โProjects may include the acquisition of vehicles, machinery and other
equipment for the constituency,โ are some provisions of the bill.
Leading the debate, Mrs Oduah said constituency orojects is one of the
unique features of Nigeriaโs democratic journey so far.
She said the bill is intended to correct the top-bottom approach of
governance and replace it with the bottom top approach.
If not for the projects, majority of federal constituencies would not
have a single federal project due to lopsided nature of project
allocation in the budget, she said.
The lawmaker said instead of vilifying the National Assembly on the
constituency projects, people should advocate for an institutional
framework for the implementation of the constituency projects as it is
the case in Kenya.
