A civil society organisation, MonITNG, has raised concerns over the spending priorities of federal lawmakers representing Abuja, accusing them of diverting funds to projects such as streetlights, vehicles, and household item distribution while neglecting urgent needs in education and healthcare.
The lawmakers—Senator Ireti Kingibe, Ajiya Abdulrahman, and Joshua Chinedu Obika—were faulted for supporting allocations that heavily favoured infrastructure considered non-essential compared to the basic needs of rural communities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Figures from the Federal Government’s 2024 budget show that ₦150 million was approved for solar streetlights in selected communities, while another ₦100 million was set aside to provide lighting for the Apo Legislators’ Quarters.
An additional ₦100 million was allocated to purchase vehicles for traditional rulers, and ₦75 million for distributing household items.
By contrast, allocations for education and healthcare were strikingly low. Just ₦25 million was earmarked to provide 35 desktop computers to Orozo Secondary School, ₦50 million for educational grants to indigent students, and ₦50 million for a one-off medical outreach.
MonITNG estimated that over ₦1.1 billion was channelled into what it described as projects of political patronage rather than addressing the more pressing challenges in FCT communities.
These challenges include primary health centres without medicines or adequate staff, schools with overcrowded and dilapidated classrooms, and communities in Abaji, Kwali, and Gwagwalada struggling with unsafe drinking water.
The organisation also flagged procedural irregularities, noting that many of the projects were assigned to agencies outside their legal mandates. Tertiary institutions such as the College of Veterinary and Medical Laboratory Technology in Plateau State, the Federal College of Horticulture in Gombe, and the Cooperative College in Oji River were listed as implementing agencies for projects in Abuja—raising questions of accountability and oversight.
Budget analysts have long criticised such practices, with groups like BudgIT previously warning that lawmakers’ habit of allocating constituency projects to inappropriate Ministries, Departments, and Agencies fuels duplication, undermines transparency, and limits the impact of public spending.
The development has intensified scrutiny on Abuja lawmakers, with civil society groups insisting that resources should be directed toward addressing the region’s most urgent needs—particularly education, healthcare, and clean water access.
