TheCable

Ned Nwoko, senator representing Delta north, says he was able to attract N1 billion worth of projects for his constituents.

Nwoko said this when he appeared on ‘Mic On podcast’, a programme hosted by Seun Okinbaloye, a journalist with Channels Television.

There has been renewed interest in allocations for constituency projects for federal lawmakers, after Jarigbe Jarigbe, senator representing Cross River north, claimed recently that some “senior” senators got N500 million for projects.

Jarigbe made the claim when the senate deliberated on the allegation by Abdul Ningi, now suspended senator representing Bauchi central, who claimed 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.

On March 13, Ali Ndume, chief whip of the senate, said presiding and principal officers received more in constituency project allocation because “some animals are more equal than others”.