Senator Ned Nwoko, who represents Delta North, has confirmed that he was able to secure projects worth N1 billion for his constituents.
Gatekeepers News reports that this statement was made during his appearance on the ‘Mic On podcast’, which was hosted by Seun Okinbaloye, a journalist with Channels Television.
Recently, there has been increased interest in the allocation of constituency projects for federal lawmakers.
This was ignited by the accusation made by Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe, who represents Cross River North, that some “senior” senators received N500 million for projects.
Senator Jarigbe made this allegation during the Senate’s deliberation on the claim by Abdul Ningi, the suspended senator representing Bauchi Central, that the 2024 budget was padded by N3 trillion.
Nwoko said he would have preferred a scenario where the constituency project allocation to every senator is fixed.
“The way it is done now, you basically rely on your weights and contacts to see what you can get for your people,” he said.
“Well, it is just the system. Just the system. It is a system in Nigeria… like I said, I’d have preferred a situation where we all know what we are getting — you don’t need to lobby for it and it is a standard thing.
“All the 109 senators from the onset should know what is going on in their particular district.
“A better approach would have been for senatorial uniformity. So if they say that everyone should get about N1 billion, so be it. But this way, you rely on your weight and contacts to see what you can get for your people.
“This is not money for us. It is money for projects within our senatorial districts. So if you have roads, water projects, training programmes all aggregate to a certain sum.”
Asked if he received as much as N1 billion in allocation, the senator said: “Of course I did. That’s why I am who I am. But these are projects for my people.”
The senator said he does not want to know who the contractors executing the projects are, but only cares about the delivery of the projects he has been able to attract to Delta north.
