Senate Denies Claim On ‘N500 Million Given’ To Senators For Constituency Projects

The Senate has denied allegations that certain Senators received funds ranging from N300 million to N500 million for constituency projects.

Recall that the Senate had a rowdy session on Tuesday after Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe (PDP-Cross River North) claimed that some “senior senators” got N500 million in the 2024 budget for constituency projects.

Jarigbe asserted this while adding to the discussion initiated by Senator Solomon Adeola, who represents Ogun West, concerning the accusation of budget padding in 2024.

The legislator from Cross River suggested that any senators who scrutinize the budget and constituency projects are implicitly implicated.

He said: “We are going forth and back on these issues — the issue of the budget and individual issues concerning what came to our various constituencies.

“If we want to discuss those issues, all of us are culpable. Some senior senators received N500 million each. I’m a ranking senator; I did not receive one. Did I go to the press? Most of you got it.

“Let us wash our dirty linen in public.”

Speaking with reporters after plenary on Tuesday, the Senate spokesman, Yemi Adaramodu, described the allegation that some senators received constituency funds as a fairy tale.

Adaramodu said the Senator who raised the issue had recanted, claiming that he also got the information as a rumour somewhere.
He said, “There is no N500m largesse anywhere. The senator who raised it had since recanted, claiming that somebody told him somewhere.”

He also said the allegation that a section of the country was allocated more funds than other regions was not put in the right perspective, saying that allocations were done sectorally.

The Senate spokesperson said the integrity of the National Assembly was in question, hence the matter was treated with the seriousness it deserved.

Adaramodu, however, urged journalists to study the 2024 budget to investigate allocations to the National Assembly.