The Nigerian Senate, on Monday accused Civil Servants of engaging in sharp practices during allocation of constituency projects and award of contracts.
Through its committee on Poverty Alleviation and social welfare, the Senate blamed the non implementation of poverty alleviation constituencies projects on bureaucrats, “who sit on money and allocate contracts to themselves.”
The committee also vowed to return sanity into the system and also probe perception and bad public image of the National Assembly in terms of constituency intervention projects.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Ali Wakili, disclosed this while declaring open, 1-day public hearing organized by the committee, in collaboration with Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, on the Constituencies Development Catalyst Fund Establishment Bill (SB.103).
Senator Wakili indicted the civil servants, saying they were responsible for lack of implementations of constituency intervention projects across the country.
He stressed that, “the bureaucrats go about spending billions on vehicles and award contracts to themselves which gave the legislators bad name”.
“There have always been misconceptions about constituency projects which have given legislators bad name. It is rather meant to ensure that, constituencies have feeling of representative but the bureaucrats have prevented that.
“The bureaucrats are to be blamed for the non implementation of constituency projects because they sit on the money, pocket it and award contracts to themselves, justifying project on the account of buying vehicles”, Wakili said.
Also speaking, a member of the committee, Senator Danjuma La’ah, said the money budgeted for constituency projects has never been converted to personal use of the Senators.
According to him, “we don’t use monies for constituencies for our own use. We make sure we observe, check and see the job is not well done then we say no to it. These constituency projects are up to you, if it is not well done, you can object it.
“You can advise us where to put up such projects, the kind of projects you want.
Everybody has the right to object to any project brought to your constituency. The projects are for all of us and we will make sure we deliver the dividends of democracy.
“The bottom line of our constituency projects is to ensure equitable distribution of infrastructures in our various constituencies.”
Speaking further, the Senator said, “if we don’t have a Permanent Secretary at the federal level or a Director that is very powerful, you hardly attract the federal government presence of any infrastructure in the area. But if you look at the National Assembly, we have 109 Senators, in the House of Reps, 360. If you look at this, we represent every corner of this country”.
Reacting to the allegation, the Director, Citizen’s Centre for Integrated Development and Social Right (CCIDESOR), Emeka Ononamadu blamed the legislators for not handling their oversight functions properly.
According to him, members of the public do not need unnecessary blames. He said, “the constitution gives National Assembly power to make law, oversight and the right to conduct public hearing .
“The constitution gives power to National Assembly to ensure budget implementation and if they are not carrying oversight and connecting their duties to Nigerians why do we take their blames seriously? Nigerians should hold the legislators responsible for non implementation of Constituency project.
“Why did Senate keep quiet over a huge allegation as such, that is to say they are doing the job well and that does not make up for the development the people need.
“The essence of this is to ensure that there is public participation. The law is meant to govern the citizens of Nigeria. If you need a robust law, you need to bring people to participate whereby you have their inputs, you will have a living law. A law that can stand the test of time”.
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