Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has launched a scathing critique of Nigerian lawmakers, describing their practice of inserting constituency projects into budgets as "daylight unarmed robbery." In his newly released book, Nigeria Past and Future: Contemplations on Nigeria’s History and Vision For Tomorrow, Obasanjo harshly denounced this practice as driven by a "hunger for illegitimate money," which severely distorts the national budget and leads to fiscal deficits.
Obasanjo underscored that these constituency projects are unilaterally inserted by legislators without consultation or agreement with the executive branch, turning the budgeting process into a "caricature." Comparing the current era unfavorably with his time in office, he said that whereas earlier irregularities were somewhat disguised and investigated, today's lawmakers operate brazenly and with complete impunity, with the president himself allegedly complicit through inaction.
He called for all involved in these projects at both federal and state levels to be treated as criminals, highlighting the urgent need to tackle this syndicate to restore integrity in public finance. Obasanjo also linked the corruption to broader governance failures, including inflated lawmaker salaries, fraudulent oversight visits, and the weakening of anti-corruption reforms.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) has confirmed that abandoned constituency projects span across 22 Nigerian states, raising concerns about the effective use of allocated public funds. The House of Representatives alone has allocated over N54 billion for constituency projects, with members receiving up to N150 million each, intensifying debates on transparency and accountability in public spending.
Obasanjo’s blistering indictment of lawmakers comes at a time when public trust in Nigeria’s political institutions is critically low, and demands for reforms are louder than ever. His remarks challenge both legislators and the executive to confront entrenched corruption practices that undermine Nigeria’s development prospects.