Amidst Hardship, Lawmakers Constituency Allowance Increases By N50m

Amid hardship facing Nigerians due to the hike in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called Petrol and the economic meltdown of the country, lawmakers in the country have seen their constituency reportedly increased by N50m.

Constituency or zonal intervention projects in Nigeria refers to developmental projects sited in the constituencies of lawmakers at the state and federal level as budgeted for under various Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

OSUN DEFENDER had reported that the President, Bola Tinubu had during its presidential campaigns, promised ‘Renewed Hope’ for Nigerians.

However, since assumption into office, Nigerians, most especially, the underprivileged has been struggling to survive with calls from many quarters to the government to cut governance cost.

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OSUN DEFENDER gathered that members of the House of Representatives in the 10th Assembly will get a total of N54bn for constituency projects as each member would get N150m.

The salaries and allowances of lawmakers which were often shrouded in secrecy have always been at the centre of controversies.

During the ninth assembly, the medium gathered that each House of Representatives member got N100m, while Senators N200m each for constituency projects

A lawmaker who craved anonymity, said the constituency allowances are part of the few privileges available to lawmakers to directly impact their various constituencies.

The lawmaker said, “In the House of Reps, our constituency allowance is N150m. This is the only opportunity we have to help our constituencies with one or more projects.

“We usually don’t have power over the real projects. So, this is often like palliative for us to give back to our constituencies. Many of us often use our money to do all the projects that we do for our constituencies.

“And this year, we are getting N150m in the House of Reps; I don’t know how much they will get at the Senate.”