The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission has decried the lackadaisical way the constituency projects were being handled in Nigeria, saying both the constituents and the lawmakers were always not serious with the projects.

The commission noted that the constituency projects were not gifts or donations from the legislators to the communities but they were sponsored by the governments with public funds, saying people’s representatives (lawmakers) just selected the projects due to their closeness to the people.

The ICPC Chairman, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, stated this at a town hall meeting, in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Tuesday. The programme was organised by the ICPC in collaboration with National Orientation Agency, for various stakeholders. It was themed: ‘My Constituency, My Project!.’

Owasanoye, represented by the commissioner in charge of Osun, Ekiti and Ondo States, Mr Baba Shuaib, lamented that a lot of money had been spent on constituency projects in the country by the government but there was nothing to show for it. He urged the people in the communities to be monitoring the projects, which were carried out by members of the state and federal lawmakers

He said, “Since the beginning of this democracy ( in 1999), Nigeria has spent over N1trillion on constituency projects and there is nothing to show for it.

“Constituency projects and other projects are sponsored by the government, they belong to the people.They belong to you as fruits of national resources and government responsibility to the people.

“Your representatives in the legislature, who select constituency projects do so because they are close to you, and it is expected that they understand your needs better.

“You should therefore work with them to make sure that projects chosen for you actually reflect your needs. You can follow up on your projects approved for your community by asking for information on them.”

According to the chairman, monitoring of projects by the communities would also help legislators on how contractors handling the projects were performing on the field and delivering durable projects to the communities.

In his remarks, The Director-General, National Orientation Agency, Dr Garba Abari said projects were inserted or funded by members of the state and National Assemblies during the budget cycle to drive the need to get development closer to the grassroots.

Represented by the Ondo State Director of NOA, Mr Bode Famose said constituency projects appeared to have come to stay in the country, despite the hot debate around it.

“The public perception of these constituency projects is that it is a largesse disbursed by government to legislators as part of the perquisites of office. In fact, in the past, many of these projects were never done or left uncompleted. In some other areas, irrelevant projects were sited in communities requiring no such facilities.

“Our partnership is to change the perception so that citizens will begin to see the projects as theirs and therefore, continue to make the needed contribution that will help to popularize democratic model of government in the country,” the DG explained.