Senator Nwoko represents Delta North in the Red Chamber of Nigeria's bicameral National Assembly.
A Nigerian senator, Ned Nwoko has said that he received N1 billion for constituency projects amid allegations of budget padding.
Senator Nwoko represents Delta North in the Red Chamber of Nigeria's bicameral National Assembly.
Nwoko, while featuring on The Mic On podcast, corroborated claims made by Senator Ali Ndume that resources are not allocated equally to the legislators.
You see why I am not a big fan of civilians possessing g**s? Our country doesn't even have a good database system for this. Senator Ned Nwoko should look for a better bill to push than this G*n Law. Look at how those miscreants murd€red our soldiers with unlicensed g**s.… pic.twitter.com/4HnfXbVOuu
— Thεό Abu (@TheoAbuAgada) March 17, 2024
According to him, "allocations often vary based on the magnitude of a senator's constituency projects.
“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.
“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 received as much as N1 billion in allocation, Senator Nwoko said, “Of course I did. That’s why I am who I am. But these are projects for my people.”
The senator was reacting to the recent allegations made by the senator representing Bauchi Central, Abdul Ningi, who claimed that the 2024 budget was padded by N3.7 trillion.
Ningi was suspended for three months last week.