Stakeholders seek improved oversight of constituency projects for impact on Nigerians

STAKEHOLDERS, including Macarthur Foundation, Budgit and Orderpaper Advocacy Initiative, have urged better oversight of constituency projects for meaningful impact on Nigerians.

Deputy Director, Macarthur Foundation, Dayo Olaide, pointed out that the N100 trillion budgets since Nigeria returned to civil rule in 1999 had not shown in the lives of the citizens.

At a policy dialogue, yesterday, on situating “Constituency projects in the 2023 electioneering campaigns”, organised by Orderpaper in partnership with Budgit and Macarthur Foundation in Abuja, Olaide expressed disappointment that Nigerian lawmakers were rather interested in commendations for budget passage than implementation and real- time impact on the citizenry.

He said: “Between 1999 and as we speak, the Federal Government has budgeted over N100 trillion. This year is N17 trillion, last year, N13 trillion, 2020, N11 trillion, 2019 – N8 trillion, that is already over N40 trillion. And between 1999 and 2018, it budgeted over N63 trillion.

“But within that same period, out of school children rose from 10.5 million to 18 million. So ask the question, where has the over N100 trillion gone to?”

The deputy director noted that the tendency was for the legislators to be commending themselves when in real terms, the implementation “is nothing to write home about.”

He said looking at the education or health sectors, it is difficult to argue that there has been progress even though there is progress in the number of la ws, whether at federal or state in all the areas

Representative of Budgit Adewale Adejola, who stood in for the Country Director Gabriel Okiewu, said: “It is so disheartening that people’s needs are not being captured in the communities. Sometimes, the legislators don’t even know the situation of the people they are representing. That is why needs assessment is important.”

Okiewu went on: “With our tracker department, we monitor constituency projects in 32 states and the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT). So, we have the understanding of what is actually happening across the country.

“We also see that empowerment projects take more than 60 per cent of the N100 billion allocation for constituency projects every year.

“Of the amount, the principal officers like the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Senate Leader and his counterpart in the House, etcetera take the largest share.

“Like the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, his share of projects is more that that of lawmakers from two states combined. I stay in Lagos, and if I measure the developments in ( Surulere) Federal Constituency 1 that he represents, the funds being allocated to the zonal intervention project cannot be compared to the projects on ground. So people don’t know.”

Executive Director, OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative, Oke Epia, said as lawmakers have come to the season they need Nigerians to remain in the chambers, there was need to evaluate the almost four years they have done.

“That is the mandate we have brought upon ourselves at Orderpaper in the last couple of months to do some form of appraisal. It may not be very exhaustive, around the core functions of the legislature – lawmaking, performance of oversight – and representation,” he added.