Tinubu Halves Constituency Project Allocation For Federal Lawmakers From ₦1 Billion To ₦500 Million

President Bola Tinubu has reduced the constituency project allocation for each federal lawmaker from ₦1 billion to ₦500 million, citing severe funding constraints in the 2025 national budget.

The disclosure was made by Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, member of the House of Representatives for Pankshin, Kanke, and Kanam Federal Constituency in Plateau State. In a widely circulated video on social media, Gagdi sought to clarify misconceptions about the management of these funds, stressing that lawmakers do not receive the money directly into personal accounts.

“Our parliamentary order differs from that of the State Assembly because no federal legislator receives constituency project funds directly,” Gagdi explained. “The only thing we receive is a ₦1 billion envelope for constituency projects, which is shared among all the legislators from a state.”

Gagdi detailed how the allocation is distributed, which varies by the number of federal lawmakers per state. “For instance, in Kano, the ₦1 billion envelope is shared among 27 legislators. In Plateau, we are only eight members, so each of us gets ₦125 million worth of projects,” he said. “As a legislator, I am responsible for bringing projects that will be funded up to that amount.”

He added that additional developmental initiatives in constituencies often come from lobbying relevant ministries and agencies for support, rather than direct fund disbursements. Gagdi noted that allocations had increased recently, stating, “I have never received constituency projects worth more than ₦125 million until this year, when the President increased the intervention from ₦125 million to ₦1 billion per House member. Senators were allocated ₦2 billion each.”

However, the optimism was short-lived. Despite the passage of the 2025 Appropriation Act, Gagdi revealed that no capital project funds have been released to the executive arm or the National Assembly. “It was only last week that Mr. President reached out to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, saying that the 2025 budget cannot be funded,” he said. “Consequently, our constituency intervention project was reduced from ₦1 billion to ₦500 million.”