TheCable

Since the return to civilian rule in 1999, Nigeria has budgeted trillions of naira for constituency projects sponsored by lawmakers in the two chambers of the national assembly.

Constituency projects are to ensure that the dividends of democracy reach citizens in urban and rural areas.

However, according to the latest report by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), many constituency projects are still shrouded in corrupt and shady dealings.

The phase three report of the constituency project tracking exercise by the ICPC revealed various incidents of “overpaid contract sums, projects subtly awarded to lawmakers, payment for non-existent projects”, among others.

The tracking exercise, which began in September 2021 and is supported by the MacArthur Foundation, covered projects in 17 states.

According to the report, some of the projects were taken away from intended beneficiaries and channeled to the private coffers of lawmakers, while in some cases, there was conspiracy between lawmakers, executing agencies and supervisors who, after receiving gratification, signed certificates of completion for uncompleted projects.

The report also revealed how thousands of pupils across states under review were denied the use of learning facilities because projects awarded were either poorly executed or not completed.

For instance, in December 2020, a project for the construction of a block of classrooms at LEA Primary School, Tsebawara village in Ajingi council area of Kano state was abandoned despite the contractor collecting full payment for the job on the advice of the project supervisor.

As in the report, in Katsina central federal constituency, the original design for the construction and equipment of e-library was changed without approval from the government. Although N49.9 million was approved and paid for the project, valuation of what the contractor built put the cost at N17.9 million. ICPC described the completed project as a “cubicle” instead of a large hall.

In Benue, the senator representing Benue north-east senatorial district was said to have sponsored a project for the supply of educational materials to City Science and Technical Academy, but it was found out that the school belongs to the lawmaker.

At the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Centre in Zaria, Kaduna state, the chief executive officer of the centre reportedly awarded contracts worth N500 million to 15 contractors and paid the sum. He then reportedly asked the contractors to deduct five percent of the money as their reward and return the balance to him. ICPC said the CEO would later hand the money to the sponsor of the project in dollar equivalent.

Lawmakers were also said to have used medical outreach projects such as healthcare intervention, awareness campaign on diseases, and provision of drugs to hospitals to allocate funds for questionable projects. But the report states that less that 50 percent of the budget approved for such projects are actually spent on execution.

In Abuja, a training and empowerment programme for women and youths, worth over N149.9 million was reportedly awarded to Al-Jabi Integrated Nigeria Limited but against the due process policy of the federal government, as the company is said to be owned by Sokodabo Hamza, a relative of the sponsoring legislator.

By law, contracts should not be awarded to a company belonging to a sponsoring legislator or their relatives.

In a similar case of abuse of office, a contract worth N199.9 million was said to have been awarded to Sinti Nigeria Limited by the Sokoto Rima Basin Development Authority in November 2020. But it was later “found” that the company belongs to the sponsor of the project, Jibrin Barau of Kano senatorial district. It was also disclosed that the company had, in the past, been awarded contract sponsored by the same lawmaker.

At Katsina central federal constituency, a project for the construction of an ICT centre was awarded to Cool Choice Nigeria Limited, a company that reportedly belongs to the sponsor of the project. Although the initial budget for the project was N49 million, the report said the design was changed to an inferior plan and only N17 million was spent on the project.

In Sokoto, a contract for the supply of 102 motorcycles was awarded to Muesther Unique Global Limited, but only 19 motorcycles and 10 tricycles were supplied. When the supposed beneficiaries of the project were contacted, they told tracking officials that they didn’t receive motorcycles or tricycles, but the legislator was reportedly paid full amount for the contract and claimed that the project performance was 100 percent.

In Gwadabawa federal constituency area of Sokoto, a water project was left “uncompleted” even though full payment was made by the executing agency.

There were also cases of “project cost inflation and overpayment”. One of such was in Kwande/Ushongo federal constituency, where 13 solar-powered borehole projects were awarded at the cost of N112.9 million. The projects were later said to have been abandoned, while the contractor was overpaid to the tune of N9.1 million.

In 2019, a total of 72 motorcycles were supplied for a project in Nanger/Potiskum federal constituency in Yobe state. But instead of being delivered in Yobe, the motorcycles were reportedly delivered to the sponsoring legislator in Abuja with no evidence of distribution or transporting them to Yobe. At the time the project was proposed, there was an existing ban on motorcycle use in the state. The ban had been in place for seven years before the project was approved.