As the controversy over the removal of the N60bn Lagos-Calabar rail project and others from the 2016 budget by the lawmakers, lingers on, at least 80 road projects amounting to N40bn were inserted into the 2016 budget at the National Assembly, Daily Trust reports.
Sources told Daily Trust that the lawmakers at both chambers removed some of the projects included in the budget submitted by Pres. Buhari and replaced them with new ones. It was gathered that the chairman of the House of Representatives committee on appropriation, Rep Abdulmumin Jibrin, allocated projects worth N4.169bn to his constituency.
Jibrin alone allocated 22 projects to Kiru/Bebeji, his federal constituency. These are outside the usual constituency projects captured in the budget.
A senator said it would be unfair to single out the chairmen of the Appropriation Committees of both chambers, adding that it is a common thing during budget processes. He added that it has been the practice as such there is nothing new about this thing.”
Confirming the news, Jirbin said: “It is true that there are projects allocated to my constituency just like other members did. Just because I’m the chairman of the appropriation committee, my constituents should not get projects? Are my constituents not Nigerians?
Every member has one project or the other in his constituency, so I don’t think I did anything wrong by having some projects in my constituency. I think people should be fair to me please.”…. n face d man dt was on Twitter when d N60bn Lagos-Calabar rail project was removed….
