The House of Representatives has ordered a probe into the spate of abandonment and non-execution of constituency projects awarded by the Federal Government under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) programme.
It has also invited the Minister of Finance, Dr Olusegun Aganga, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals, Hajiya Amina Az-Zubair, to appear before it and brief the lawmakers on the state of the projects across the country.
The resolution to invite the duo was sequel to a motion brought before the House seeking to correct public misconceptions on the true state of the MDG projects in terms of who awards the contracts, the source of funding and whether funds meant for the projects are paid to individual lawmakers on behalf of their constituencies.
In the motion sponsored by Hon. Leo Ogor (PDP Delta) and eighteen other lawmakers, the House noted that constituency projects were essentially projects included in the national budget to be executed in all Federal Constituencies across the country.
Ogor argued that although such projects were usually nominated by members of the National Assembly in the process of budget preparation, it is the responsibility of the executive arm of government to expend the funds so appropriated in the execution of the constituency projects.
He expressed disappointment that in the face of gross misconception and public criticism launched against the legislators, the executive arm of government has failed to clarify the role and limitations of the legislature on constituency projects.
We are concerned that the way and manner the Executive Arm of the Federal Government has handled the issue of constituency projects in the country has left some members of the public with the notion that the funds for the projects are paid to members of the National Assembly.
The failure of the Executive Arm of government to own up publicly to their responsibility as regards the execution of constituency projects is the reason some members of the public have continued to accuse members of the National Assembly as having pocketed the monies meant for constituency projects,Ogor said.
Several lawmakers who contributed to the debate claimed that they have become victims of politically motivated attacks in the constituencies owing to the issue of constituency projects. They lamented that the misconception that lawmakers were in custody of the funds meant for the projects has become a ready tool in the hands of their political opponents in the build up to the 2011 elections.
Besides tasking the Presidency to ensure the prompt execution of the constituency projects across the country, the House has asked the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs to clarify the role of the lawmakers in the scheme of things. It called on the Department of Information and Media of the National Assembly to take up the issue by enlightening the public on the role of the lawmakers in the selection, award, funding and execution of these projects.
The House also resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to identify all abandoned contracts under the MDG Constituency Project scheme across the federation with a view to re-awarding the contracts in the next six weeks.
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