2024 Budget: How I got over N1bn for constituency projects—Senator

The senator representing Delta North Senatorial District, Ned Nwoko, has disclosed that he received more than N1 billion for constituency projects in the 2024 budget.

Nwoko, in an interview with Channels Television on Saturday, March 16, said: “Senators get what they lobby for, not because they have the right to it. Everybody just goes about doing what they can do for their constituencies and senatorial districts.

The lawmaker spoke in reaction to the claims by the senator representing Borno South Senatorial District, that each senator was allocated N200 million for constituency projects in the 2024 budget.

Ndume, who is the Chief Whip of the Senate, had said 10 senators, who are leaders, including himself, got more than N200 million in constituency allocation.

He said this after the Senate was thrown into a rowdy session following a disclosure by Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe (PDP-Cross River North) that all ranking senators got the sum of N500 million in the budget.

Jarigbe himself had made the disclosure during the debate of the motion against the senator representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District, Abdul Ningi, who said N3.7 trillion was allegedly added to the 2024 budget.

But clearing the air on the issue, Nwoko, in an interview with Channels Television on Saturday, said contrary to the information being fed to the public, he said Senators actually got what they lobbied for, not because they had the right to it.

His words: “A better approach would have been for senatorial uniformity. So if they say that everyone should get about N1 billion, so be it. But this way, you rely on your weight and contacts to see what you can get for your people.

“We are not talking about money for the senators. This is for projects within our senatorial districts. If you have road, water, or training programmes, all should aggregate to a particular amount.”

Asked if he got as much as N1 billion in the allocation, the senator said: “Of course, I did. That’s why I am who I am. But these are projects for my people.”

He added that the allocated funds are for financing projects, not for personal reimbursement of individual senators.