16th March, 2024
A former Senator and Minister of State for Defence, Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro, has said that constituents must feel the impact of government in their areas, to justify the funds allocated to constituency projects.
Obanikoro said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday.
He spoke against the backdrop of the alleged budget padding saga that rocked the Senate and the disclosures on funds allocated to constituency projects.
Allegations of budget padding had emerged after the lawmaker representing Bauchi Central, Sen. Abdul Ningi, in a BBC interview on March 9, alleged that N3.7tn was not tied to specific projects in the 2024 budget.
The Senate, unhappy with the allegation, expressed displeasure with the lawmaker’s action, which it said, put it in bad light.
After deliberating on the issue and dismissing the padding allegation, members of the upper chamber voted to suspend Ningi for three months, after finding his explanations for his action unacceptable.
In spite of the development, some people have called for deeper probe into the padding allegation.
Speaking on the issue, Obanikoro dismissed the padding allegation, saying that what was so construed was allocated to constituency projects.
He, however, said that the impact of the projects must be felt in the constituencies and there was a need for moderation.
“There’s nothing like padding, it’s been misconstrued, I don’t know if that is deliberate or not, but it, in actual sense, is for constituency projects.
” As a senator, you’re responsible for your constituency by executing projects that will better the lives of people in your respective constituencies that you represent; that’s not padding.
” However, everything should be in moderation, and members of the constituency must feel the impact of government in that constituency.
“That’s what justifies the essence of constituency projects,” he said.
Obanikoro spoke days after a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Adeniyi Akintola, said Nigerian lawmakers had no business with constituency projects, but to make laws that will enhance good governance.
Akintola told NAN in Abuja on Thursday while reacting to the allegation of padding of the 2024 appropriation bill by the Senate.
Akintola noted that under the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended), the national assembly had no power to execute any project, saying it was the responsibility of the executive.
He lamented how the society had been aiding lawmakers to take up duties that were not theirs.
The senior advocate attributed this to the ignorance of the electorate.
“We cannot blame the national assembly members. The electorate don’t know that the national assembly function is to make laws and not to allocate projects.
“Unfortunately, it is the same electorate that will go to them and be asking for largesse, palliative or what have you,” he said.
The legal luminary stressed the need for political education of the electorate to enhance good governance in the country.
He said Nigerians should hold their lawmakers accountable and ensure that they see to the implementation of budgets as stipulated.
(NAN)