Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The minority caucus in the House of Representatives has rejected the 30 slots allotted to each member of the House for their respective Local Government Areas in the Federal Government’s 774,000 public works scheme.
The lawmakers demanded more transparency and consultation in the implementation of the 774,000 public works scheme.
The caucus, in a statement by the minority leader, Ndudi Elumelu, on Tuesday, said the allocation of 30 of the 1,000 jobs per Local Government to lawmakers was unfair and unacceptable to Nigerians and the lawmakers.
Elumelu, a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) member representing Anaocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency of Delta State, charged President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately order a review of the implementation process to ensure that the targeted citizens benefited from the programme as intended.
According to him, the 774,000 jobs are meant for the people and that the people look up to the lawmakers as major channels through which they are reached for social and economic empowerment.
He noted that makes the 30 slots given to members of the House inadequate.
‘The 30 person allotment per local government for lawmakers is grossly unfair, inadequate and unacceptable to Nigerians. As the representatives of the people, we are closer to them and they directly interact with us, irrespective of religion, class and political affiliations.
‘All Nigerians living in our constituencies are our constituents, irrespective of political leanings. We have a responsibility to protect their interests at all times. As such lawmakers ought to have been carried along on the allotment.
‘Moreover, the questions are: what criteria are being used in the job allotments? Given the 30 persons out of the 1,000 per Local Government Area allotted to federal lawmakers, what happens to the remaining 970? What answers do we give Nigerians? How do we ensure that the program benefited Nigerians and not enmeshed in allegations of sharp practices as witnessed in the COVID-19 palliative distribution?’