Mr. Aliyu Wamakko, a federal lawmaker from Sokoto state and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) have allegedly renovated a single college hall for the sum of N50 million as a constituency project.
Mr. Wamakko, a senator from Sokoto State had in 2021, facilitated the construction and furnishing Special conference hall at Sokoto Science College Abdullahi Fodio road, in Sokoto North Senatorial district as his constituency project.
Under the deal, the Sokoto lawmaker nominated the project using the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and serves as the project supervisor.
The federal government in an effort to ensure the project was executed budgeted the sum of N50 million for it, while allocations have been made.
The contract for the hall renovation was awarded to Sunstar Integrated Services Limited. A company that has its operational headquarters at Kano.
Tracka, a public accountability organization that visited the project site for an inspection, disclosed that despite N50 million budget provision, no new hall was constructed, and rather the lawmaker and UBEC renovated an existing hall in the school.
It is not, however, clear the kind of procurement process undertaken by UBEC and the Sokoto lawmaker to have allegedly awarded a contract for the renovation of a single existing college hall for N50 million.
Mr. Monday Ede, a civil engineer, and quantity surveyor speaking to MAWA, said that amount is enough to construct 10 halls and equip them. He, however, accused UBEC and the Kano lawmaker to have shortchanged the community.
“Where on earth if not Nigeria can one justifies renovating a college hall for N50 million, these politicians are terrible people, they do not mean well to anybody,” Ede said.
Constituency projects are nominated by the lawmakers for the needs of their constituents and recommended same to the executive during budgeting; this will help to improve the living condition of the people in their constituents through building local infrastructures.
However, Nigerian experience has shown that Lawmakers do not execute constituency projects as they appear in the national budget, and getting them to account for monies approved for such intervention is always difficult.
And, often, community residents are not aware such monies have been given to their representatives, and that makes accountability very difficult.
MAWA-Foundation could not immediately reach out to UBEC and the Sokoto lawmaker for official responses.