Senators now collect N2 billion & House of Representative members N1 billion monthly as constituency allocation—Federal lawmaker reveals
A federal lawmaker has sparked fresh outrage after revealing that Nigerian legislators are now receiving significantly larger sums for constituency projects since the removal of fuel subsidy under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Speaking at a public forum in Osun State, the unnamed legislator disclosed that no Senator currently receives less than N2 billion, while each member of the House of Representatives now gets at least N1 billion for such projects.
He noted that the sharp increase began shortly after the controversial fuel subsidy was scrapped last year, a policy move that has since deepened economic hardship for millions of Nigerians.
According to him, as state governments began receiving more funds following the subsidy removal, federal lawmakers also started pocketing larger allocations under the guise of constituency development.
“There is no honourable member—quote me anywhere—getting less than N1 billion for constituency projects. This was not the case before. The increase started last year,” he stated. “Now, there is no Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with constituency projects less than N2 billion.”
The lawmaker emphasized that these projects are not funded from lawmakers’ personal wealth, but rather from public resources, underscoring the scale of budget padding and opaque allocations that now define the National Assembly’s operations.
These revelations come amid longstanding concerns about the abuse of constituency project funds. Numerous reports have exposed how these projects are often used as channels for looting public money—riddled with inflated contracts, ghost projects, or poorly executed works with little to no benefit for the intended communities.
Despite trillions of naira allocated to constituency projects since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, basic infrastructure remains lacking in many parts of the country. While ordinary citizens bear the brunt of rising inflation, poverty, and failing public services, legislators continue to enjoy generous, unaccountable allocations—deepening public mistrust in the legislative arm of government.
