FG is funding constituency projects — official

Engr Kunle Asonibare, Federal Controller of Work, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Kwara office has declared that constituency projects in the state were solely financed by federal government and not members of the National Assembly..

Asonibare said this in Ilorin on Tuesday at a stakeholders’ meeting convened by a team from the ministry in Abuja, led by Architect Ibrahim Bala-Usman after inspecting constituency projects across the three senatorial districts of Kwara.

The stakeholders’ meeting was attended by officials from the ministries of Education, Health, Enterprise, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Water Resources and representatives of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) as well as representatives of communities where such projects were sited.

Asonibare said members of the Senate and House of representatives only facilitated the constituency projects, while federal government through the Ministry of Works and Housing financed the construction of such projects.

He therefore appealed to communities where the projects were sited to see such projects as their own and protect them jealously against vandalisation and theft.

The Controller of Works listed such projects to include schools, health center, solar-powered boreholes and transformers.

Speaking at the meeting, EngrMusa Maiyaki of Maiyaki community, Sango, in Ilorin East local government called on the federal government to help them with inter-locking paved road because erosion was disturbing them.
He also called for federal government assistance in the area of provision of street light, boreholes and other amenities that the community would enjoying.

A teacher from Babaloma Community Secondary School, Comrade Bello Suleiman appealed to the federal government to provide doctors and nurses for the clinic as well as fencing of the school to secure the students and teachers from any attack.

On the question of who should maintain transformers provided by the federal government, Eng Asonibare answered that the responsibility of maintenance of transformers lied with the Electricity Distribution Company in the state.

“Government’s duty is to provide transformers, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company takes over the responsibility and maintenance,” he added.

The leader of the team, Engr Bala-Usman appealed to communities to protect and guide the projects against theft and vandalisation.

He said that there were over 60 projects executed across Kwara, adding that the team only visited a few because of time.