How some Nigerian lawmakers pressured officials to manipulate budgets – Jega

In a keynote address on Wednesday at the Anti-Corruption Training for Norm and Behaviour Change in Abuja, former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, shared his experiences of how members of the National Assembly pressure public officials to manipulate national budgets for personal gain.

Jega, who was speaking at an event organized by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), described corruption in the public sector as a “significant impediment” to Nigeria’s development.

He criticized the undue pressures faced by top government officials, particularly from the legislative branch, noting that these actions hinder progress and undermine the country’s governance.

“There are people—there may be legislators here—but I want to say it quite categorically—they put people under very difficult positions to do their job, even with the right mindset,” he said.

He recalled how some legislators attempted to influence budget allocations and secure contracts, undermining public officials’ efforts to maintain integrity.

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Reflecting on his time at INEC, he described it as a “trial of endurance,” noting the constant pressures from lawmakers to manipulate the agency’s budget and contracts.

“Resisting these pressures required a thick skin,” he said. “It’s important to avoid vulnerabilities that could be exploited for compliance.”

He also criticised the widespread corruption culture across government branches and called for institutional reforms.

The National Assembly has been at the centre of various corruption scandals involving budget manipulations over the years.

The handling of constituency projects is a rampant and recurrent example of this.

A series of ICPC reports have uncovered the misuse of public funds by members of the National Assembly in connivance with government agencies through the padding of the national budget for constituency projects that are mostly poorly or not executed.

ICPC’s constituency project tracking reports have revealed a series of violations allegedly committed by federal lawmakers with the complicity of some officials of the executing ministries, departments, and agencies of the federal government.

The immediate-past ICPC Chairman, Bolaji Owasanoye, said in one of the reports that as of 2019, an estimated N2 trillion had been budgeted for zonal intervention projects, also called constituency projects, since 2000.

He added that despite the huge releases citizens continued to make agitations about “shoddy completion, non-completion or outright non-existence of these projects in their locale”.

Mr Jega emphasised the need for strong leadership in addressing systemic corruption.

(PremiumTimes)