A House of Representatives member, Hon. Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, has refuted claims that each member of the Lower Chamber of the National Assembly received N1 billion for capital projects.
Capital Project Allocations are appropriations facilitated by House members and released by the Federal Government to ministries and MDAs for each constituency. This is meant to address socio-economic and infrastructure challenges in their immediate constituencies. It is also meant to support rural development efforts.
Akande-Sadipe, who represents Oluyole Federal Constituency in Oyo State, made the clarification in a statement by her Media Team on Monday.
The statement reads: “The attention of Hon. Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, Member representing Oluyole Federal Constituency and Chairperson, House Committee on Humanitarian Services, has been drawn to a misleading video currently circulating across various media platforms suggesting that Federal Legislators have been receiving N1 billion each since the removal of fuel subsidy.”
“This statement is false, misleading and misrepresents the ongoing efforts of the Federal Government under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.”
She added that no legislator receives funds directly for the implementation of constituency projects. “Rather, all interventions by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, are executed by relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government as stipulated in the national budget.”
She, however, noted that the recent Policy Development in 2025 Budget proposed an increase in the capital project allocation for each federal constituency to N1 billion.
Akande-Sadipe added that this proposal was only recently introduced and captured in the 2025 Appropriation Bill (Budget).
“This development is a strategic response to the rising inflation and increased government revenues following the removal of petroleum subsidies and the floating of the foreign exchange rate”, she stated.
She further reiterated that contrary to the false claims circulating, there was no N1 Billion Provision in the 2023 or 2024 budgets.
“This policy was not part of the 2023 or 2024 budgets. It is a new initiative, reflected the first time, in the 2025 budget proposal and It’s implementation is expected to commence later this year through the first quarter of 2026.”
Hon. Akande-Sadipe commended President Tinubu’s foresight and administration for ensuring proper execution of projects through appropriate MDAs.
“As with previous constituency projects, these interventions will be executed through the appropriate MDAs. Lawmakers only *Recommend and provide oversight to ensure that projects meet the needs of their constituencies and are executed within budgetary timelines and standards”, she added.
Akande-Sadipe posited: “The lawmaker welcomes this timely intervention as a positive step toward addressing infrastructural gaps and improving service delivery at the grassroots. She reaffirms her commitment to ensuring that all projects allocated to Oluyole Federal Constituency under the 2025 budget are diligently monitored and executed to the highest standards.”
The lawmaker said she remains steadfast in her dedication to the principles of transparency, accountability, and equitable development, in line with her legislative duties and oversight responsibilities.
“We urge the general public to disregard misinformation aimed at misleading citizens in a bid to pitch them against their representatives for political reasons (IBON OSELU). She implores constituents across the nation to always seek verified updates from reliable official sources”.
