Obasanjo Launches Fresh Attack On Lawmakers, “Constituency Projects are Daylight Robbery”
- Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has attacked lawmakers in the state and federal houses of assembly
- Obasanjo said constituency projects organised by federal lawmakers are "daylight unarmed robbery”
- According to Obasanjo, lawmakers and everyone involved in constituency projects must be treated as criminals
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 8 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues
FCT, Abuja - Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said lawmakers are “much worse” than all those who have gone in the First, Second, and Third Republics.
Obasanjo described federal lawmakers’ constituency projects as "daylight unarmed robbery.”
Source: Getty Images
He said the lawmakers came up with the constituency projects “in their hunger for illegitimate money.”
As reported by Daily Trust, Obasanjo stated this in one of his recently released books titled “Nigeria Past and Future: Contemplations on Nigeria’s History and Vision For Tomorrow.”
The fresh Obasanjo’s attacks on the Nigerian lawmakers are found in chapter seven of the book “Lawmakers at Federal and State Levels.”
“In their hunger for illegitimate money, the lawmakers devised what they called constituency projects, which they unilaterally inserted into the budget without consultation or agreement with the executive, and which very badly distorted the national budget and made it unbalanced. Invariably, once such misconduct and illegitimate action are allowed, the budget would go into deficit. Then, budget budget-making exercise becomes a joke or a caricature.
“Constituency projects by lawmakers at the national or state levels are daylight unarmed robbery. All involved must be treated as criminals. In my time, it was not as brazen and audacious as it is now and particularly from the time of Buhari. They used to go through the ministries and departments. Normally, they went into collusion with the ministries, and any minister or head of parastatal caught by me would be in for a high jump. That was the case with a female Minister of Education of mine. But now, there is no disguise or pretence; it is openly done with impunity, and the president calls nobody to order, and he thereby becomes an accomplice in the crime.”
Source: Getty Images
22 states with abandoned constituency projects
Recall that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) revealed that abandoned constituency projects currently span 22 states across Nigeria.
Demola Bakare, the spokesperson of the anti-graft agency, made this known at the launch of Phase 7 of the ICPC Constituency and Executive Project Tracking Exercise.
Bakare noted that the initiative, launched in 2019, aims to ensure the effective utilization of government-allocated funds in critical sectors.
House of Reps shares N54bn for constituency projects
In a similar story, Legit.ng reported that the House of Representatives received a total of N54 billion for constituency projects, with each member getting N150 million.
A lawmaker anonymously confirmed this increase from the previous N100 million shared in the ninth Assembly.
The lawmaker argued that the constituency allowance allows them to help their constituencies with one or more projects.
Source: Legit.ng
