The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, Deputy Senate Leader Oyelola Ashiru, Chief Whip Ali Ndume, Minority Leader Abba Moro, and Deputy Minority Leader Oyewunmi Olalere, have been named among Senate principal officers who got multi-billion Naira constituency projects in Nigeria’s 2024 budget.
The projects, officially referred to as Zonal Intervention Projects (ZIP), are distributed among the 109 Senate members.
PREMIUMTIMES report revealed that constituency projects worth N4.142billion were directed to the North-West Senatorial District of Akwa Ibom State, represented by Senate Akpabio.
Similarly, the Kano North Senatorial District, represented by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, also received substantial allocations.
Also, a review of the 2024 Zonal Intervention Projects (ZIP) budget revealed that many of these projects have vague or ambiguous locations, with some even listed under questionable sub-heads.
The descriptions in the budget do not explicitly state whether the lawmakers nominated these projects, although they are located within their constituencies.
For instance, N250 million was allocated for the “Construction of rural roads in some selected communities in Kano State,” without specifying the exact local government areas or communities where the work would be done. Numerous other projects lack clear location details.
Notably, Barau Jibrin’s Kano North district had only one project with a clear allocation: N190 million for “Provision of empowerment items to farmers to boost dry season farming, traders, and other artisans (LOT 1&2) in Kano North Senatorial District.”
This project is listed under the National Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI).
In Ekiti Central Senatorial District, represented by Opeyemi Bamidele, six projects totaling N1.472 billion were allocated. These projects, while having specified locations, were often listed under irrelevant government agencies.
Similarly, Kwara South Senatorial District, represented by Oyelola Ashiru, received 11 projects worth N1.8 billion, with several listed under unrelated organizations.
Borno South Senatorial District, represented by Ali Ndume, was allocated three projects worth N722million.
Despite losing his Senate Whip position after criticizing President Bola Tinubu’s policies, Ndume’s constituency still received significant project funding.
Benue South Senatorial District, represented by Minority Leader Abba Moro, was allocated eight projects totaling N1.180 billion, many of which were also listed under irrelevant organisations.
Osun West Senatorial District, represented by Oyewunmi Olalere, was allocated six projects worth N1.130billion, with some listed under agencies unrelated to the project descriptions.
President Tinubu presented the 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion to the National Assembly in November 2023, which was later increased by the lawmakers to N28.7 trillion. The budget was signed into law on January 1, 2024.
(Sahara Reporters)
