From Kehinde Akinpelu, Ilorin
Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki has explained why provision should be made for constituency projects, which would be execution by lawmakers across the country.
According to him, such provision would allow the lawmakers to impact positively on the lives of their constituents.
The Senate President enjoined Nigerians to continue to live in peace and uphold the unity of the country.
Saraki spoke in Ilorin at the weekend, after his turbaning as Baba Adini of Ansarul Islam Society of Nigeria.
The Senate President proceeded from the venue of the ceremony to the sites of his on-going constituency projects for inspection.
He inspected erosion controls projects at Oja-Gboro, Ubandawaki/Oloje/Ajikobi,Abata Baba-Oyo and digital capacity building centre at Ansarul Islam Secondary School, Ilorin. The projects were facilitated by his office.
The Digital Capacity Building Centre is at the instance of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
With the projects inspection, the Senate President explained that it was clear to the discerning minds that the projects were real contrary to the impression that constituency project was an avenue to fritter away public funds.
He expressed satisfaction with the pace and quality of work done on the projects, saying they will impact positively on the lives of the residents.
His words: “I’m happy with the quality of work, I’m happy with the impact it has. There has been a lot of criticism due to lack of knowledge when you talk about constituency projects. You will see that these are projects needed at the grassroots. These are projects people have been yearning for, for over ten years.
“These are projects that are real unlike the impression that constituency project is just money lawmakers share. You can see that definitely, this is not the case. You will see how men, women and children, all came out with joy to show that these are projects have impact on them, and that is the whole point of development of our budget.
“I’m happy to see that the implementation has been good. My concern has always been we can have this desire but fail to actualise it at the end of the day. So I’m happy to see the quality of work and this further shows that we used our office to facilitate the projects and ensure that we bring the dividend. I’m proud that those that elected us can see the benefit of the projects, and these projects are real unlike some impressions.”
Saraki urged Nigerians to continue to live in peace and unity in order to move the nation forward.
He equally appealed to Nigerians to continue to have confidence in the All Progressives Party (APC) -led federal government, assuring that the government was working hard to overcome the myriad of challenges confronting the country .
Saraki also called on the citizens to be optimistic and stay focused.
He said: “My message is for us to live in peace and unity. I know that we will continue to make sacrifice, and we should be hopeful that the country will get better. We should be hopeful that we will attain our promises with time. We just have to stay focused and determined and weshould not get distracted. I’m sure at the end of the day, we will get there.
“But the most important thing is that there must be unity and peace, and we must be able to come together and support government to be able to do our best. People should not give up. They should be rest assured that all is going to be well”, he said.
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