Benue Lawmakers Urged to Account for Multi-Billion Naira Constituency Projects

A civic group in Benue State, the Benue Development Movement (BDM), has invited the state’s National Assembly members to a townhall meeting to account for the billions of naira allocated to constituency and intervention projects.

This call comes after constituents from various areas submitted a petition demanding their lawmakers provide updates on the progress of these projects. In a press release signed by BDM’s State Coordinator, Comrade Isaac Abah, the group highlighted the importance of public oversight in ensuring transparent use of public resources.

“Our findings indicate that there has been a significant increase in constituency allowances, with serving Senators receiving up to N2 billion and House of Representatives members receiving N1 billion each. At face value, these funds are meant to tackle socio-economic challenges in their constituencies, but evidence shows that much of the funding is not properly utilised,” the statement reads.

In a bid to enhance transparency, the Benue Development Movement (BDM) announced plans to hold a Mid-Term Public Accountability Briefing townhall. The event will invite all Benue State senators and House of Representatives members to report on the status of their 2024/2025 constituency projects.

The group also made public a list of 39 constituency projects and 72 interventions from the 2024 federal budget, enabling citizens to inspect the projects firsthand and ask informed questions.

Federal Constituency project allocations include N370 million for motorized borehole construction, solar streetlight installation, ICT and digital literacy training, digital enterprise empowerment for youth, and provision of empowerment tools in Guma.

Additionally, N790 million is allocated for solar streetlight construction and installation, procurement and distribution of tricycles and motorcycles to empower youth and women, skills acquisition programs with starter packs, rural road construction and rehabilitation, borehole drilling and reticulation, medical outreach and hospital equipment supply, procurement of science equipment and educational materials for secondary schools, as well as renovation and furnishing of schools, including classroom blocks, furniture, and chalkboards.