The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has begun the process of executing 19 projects in Kogi West Senatorial District where the Chairman of the Senate Committee on FCT Senator Dino Melaye hails from, Daily Trust can report.
The FCTA has already invited contractors to bid for the multi million naira projects through the FCT tenders board.
The projects are being executed under the heading, “constituency projects”. Of all the 109 Senatorial Districts in the country, only Kogi West was singled out for the ‘constituency projects’ under the FCTA.
The projects include construction of 17 number of 4-rooms block of classrooms in Lokongoma, Kogi, Kabba/Bunu, Ijumu, Yagba East, Yagba West and Mopa/Amuro local areas, all in Kogi West Senatorial District.
Others are construction of Town Halls in Ijumu and Kogi local government areas also in Kogi West Senatorial District.
Speaking on the issue, a ranking lawmaker who does not want to be known said the FCTA lacks the constitutional mandate to execute projects outside its jurisdiction.
“This is the height of criminality and budget padding. How would the minister tolerate this? How would FCTA be executing projects in Kogi State when it needs same? It is same as asking the Niger Delta Ministry to be executing projects in Kaduna,”he said.
The lawmaker who once served in the Senate Committee on FCT said throughout the chairmanship of Senator Smart Adeyemi in the seventh Assembly, there was nothing like that.
Melaye succeeded Adeyemi as the Chairman of the FCT committee and Senator representing Kogi West.
“In fact since 1999, I haven’t seen FCTA executing projects outside the Federal Capital. Why now? The process should be discontinued, otherwise the FCTA would be violating the Constitution of the country,”he said.
But when contacted, Melaye said, under constituency projects, there was nothing wrong for FCTA to execute projects outside Abuja.
Responding to a question via Whatsapp messenger, Melaye said “Constituency projects can be placed in any convenient ministry or agency.”
Credit: Daily Trust
