Posted by By BOLU-OLU ESHO, Ado-Ekiti on
The Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) has described the approval of constituency project allowance for members of the House of Representatives as fraudulent.
•Says it's avenue to perpetrate fraud
The Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) has described the approval of constituency project allowance for members of the House of Representatives as fraudulent.
According to its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Ben Onyechere, the PPA said the constituency allowance was an avenue to defraud the country.
The party said that lawmakers had always collected money so allocated for constituency project and convert it for personal use, as they do not execute any project. It said that the policy was meant to enrich lawmakers to the detriment of suffering people Nigerians.
The PPA accused the federal lawmakers of making laws that would enrich them instead of laws that would ensure good governance as well as help the executive arm of government to cater for the needs of the masses.
The party advised the Federal Government to convert funds that have been set aside as constituency project allowance for lawmakers to local government areas, poverty eradication funds, which would be of immense benefit to people in the rural areas.
The PPA threatened to go to court to contest the provision of constituency project allowance for lawmakers.
The statement, signed by Onyechere, said: 'Nigerians were jolted by the fraudulent proclamation by the House of Representatives that constituency project allowance would be given to its members. This is a bid to defraud the nation of billions of naira, in the name of constituency project allowance.
'It is considered as an affront for people to sit down and allocate funds to themselves for fictitious reasons. In the past, frauds have been committed without questioning through this means. The rate of poverty in the country overrides any other white elephant project, which never materializes.
'The type of people we voted to represent us in the National Assembly are a disappointment as they cannot sit down and articulate issues on how poverty will be reduced or eradicated. All they do is to pass laws that will benefit them to the detriment of the electorate. The fraud is monumental and beyond pardon because they never do what they promise. They take the country for granted by allocating huge sums of money to themselves.
'They should convert that budget for constituency project to poverty eradication funds for the local government or other functional agencies responsible for job creation and poverty eradication.
'It is surprising that nobody talks about welfare, because it's through such policies that all the huge sums they are pilfering can be adequately utilized.
'We will take them to court if they don't revert that insult on the sensibilities of the generality of Nigerians. Tell us one thing they have said or done that is in the interest of Nigerians?"