Lawmakers don’t receive money for constituency projects —Reps member

The lawmaker representing Ileoluji-Okeigbo/Odigbo federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Honourable Festus Adefiranye has said lawmakers are not given money to execute projects in their constituencies.

Adefiranye, in an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, explained that the projects such as roads, schools, health centers and others are executed by the executive on behalf of the legislature.

He added that, as against the belief of the people, these projects attracted to the constituencies were the suggestions of the lawmakers to the government through the budget in any fiscal year.

The former member of the Ondo State House of Assembly noted that lawmakers were not being rated in terms of performance by the citizens on the number of bills and motions moved on the floor but projects attracted to the communities.

The lawmaker said the “zonal intervention projects are just designed by the executive arm of government to help lawmakers bring physical development to their constituencies and senatorial districts.

“Lawmakers do not execute the projects; we are not contractors; they do not give us the money to execute the projects as against the erroneous impression that is out there in the public. Our responsibility apart from our statutory responsibility of law making is this zonal intervention project.

“There is no way if you tell your constituency that you have passed twenty laws, one hundred laws, one million motions, they will tell you that you did not perform.

“Why? They did not see any physical project and they have forgotten that you are not in the executive arm which has control over these projects but because of the zonal intervention, we appreciate the executive for giving us that opportunity.”

He disclosed that in his first year in the National Assembly, he has moved motions and bill to advance the welfare of the people and other legislative duties towards the development of his federal constituency.

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