CONSTITUENCY FUND AND PROJECTS

TONY ITA ETIM

CONSTITUENCY FUND AND LEGISLATORS

During his second term as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Governor Chubuike withheld money meant for constituency projects for legislators in the state. His reason was that his colleagues have not given account of what they did with the earlier funds they had collected; therefore there was no justification to give them more funds as the money was not part of their allowances but for the development of their various constituencies. Amaechi had insisted that the legislators should go to their various constituencies with the media to show what they did with the money. But, maybe, because there was nothing on ground to show there was never such a tour or inspection of constituency projects. The legislators did not accept his reasoning or arguments, all that they needed was constituency projects fund and how they spend it was nobody’s business. Some of the legislators argued that they did not need the presence of the media during such inspection. What were they hiding from the public?

This scenario is not only restricted to Rivers State alone as it cuts across all the states in Nigeria. In this day of transparency and accountability, one would love to see what his representatives in the State and National Assembly are doing with the constituency fund they collect each legislative year. As the governors are celebrating their one year in office and presenting their score cards to the people, our legislators should follow suit by telling their constituents what they have done in the past one legislative year. The people deserve to know.

For example, about seven villages in my clan today have no electricity despite their proximity to Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State. One of our legislators in the National Assembly between 1999 and 2003 got the contract to provide light for these seven villages and as at today the project is still ongoing. Though the project was not one of his constituency projects but he used his position as our representative to get the contract. Several attempts by the state government and other government agencies to give light to these villages have been thwarted by our honourable. He is insisting that his contract to provide light is still subsisting. He only rushed to site when he is aware that government is planning to give the job to another contractor. The state government is helpless as it cannot stop the project because it was awarded by the federal government and our federal representative happens to be the contractor. A government official once told me that whether our honourable completes the project or not it is his clansmen that are suffering and not outsiders. What manner of representative is this? He only represented himself and family and cannot claim to have represented a people he has denied electricity for eight years



There have been reports of many a legislator in flamboyant ceremony awarding “scholarships” to some deserving or indigent students in their constituency. These ceremonies usually attract wide publicity. One may dare to say that these ceremonies are just shows by our legislators to justify whatever money they collected as constituency allowances. The constituents would like to know how much our representatives, from councilors to the senators, have collected on their behalf for constituency projects. Since the constituency fund is not part of our representatives allowances we would like to know how they spend these monies on whom and what projects, and at what cost. Opening an office, which most of the year is closed; providing one of two boreholes or giving scholarship worth a few thousand of naira or the provision of motorcycles as empowerment programme does not justify the millions collected yearly for constituency projects.


Our legislators should tell us how much they have collected for constituency projects and how they expended it. They should be able to tell us why they choose water instead of an electrification project. We are not probing our representatives but as delegates they must report to those who gave them the mandates except they are telling us that our votes did not count during their elections. Or they are not representing their constituencies.

We would suggest that our legislators at the end of each legislative year arrange a kind of a village hall meeting where they meet with their constituents and brief them on what they did in the legislative assembly. These meetings should be for the entire constituency and not a party affair as our representatives are representing constituencies and not the political party on which platform they won elections. There are what my people call “I concur” legislators who throughout their tenure in a legislative assembly make no contribution to debate and bills except to vote for or against depending on what their party caucuses’ agreed. Most of them do not even raise matters of urgent public interest on issues concerning their constituencies.

During these meetings our representatives should be able to tell their constituencies how they were able to represent us and how they articulated issues that affect their constituencies and what are the outcomes of such articulations. We would like to know the contributions of our legislators to the various laws and bills that were passed by their various houses. Bench warmers cannot lay claim to be representatives. Absentee representatives should not be tolerated neither should contractor legislators see the inside of the hallowed chamber of a legislative house. Our legislators should tell us how many legislative aides they are entitled to and who and who they have employed to do the jobs and how much they are actually paying them. It would be recalled that between 1999 and 2003 there were cries of being shortchanged from the aides of our honourables. What they aides were paid by the legislators was a far cry from what our honourables collected on behalf of their staff. In some cases political appointees are given as dividends of democracy with the salary of such appointee shared among cronies from the political grouping that benefited from such appointment. This is unthinkable but it is true.

As representatives of their people legislators should not only report back to their constituents but they should also be responsive to the yearnings, needs and aspirations of their constituencies. There can be no effective followership without effective representation and vice versa, so in the Nigerian parlance the legislator must “carry their constituents along” by keeping them inform of their activities in the legislative houses. Effective representation entails efficient articulation of the desire of the people. It is regrettable that Nigerian legislators spent a good period of their time in the various assemblies to debate on issues that border on their personal welfare and comfort instead of those that affect the public or the people the are representing. This may be a result of ignorance of what representation is and what a representative should do. It is also a product of our political system where the best do not end up occupying these positions rather it is their issue of loyalty or “godfatherism” that counts.