Concerned Citizens of Ikwere/Emohua Federal Constituency in Rivers State have written to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, to beam their searchlights on the implementation of the 2024 Constituency Projects in their area.
The constituents in the two LGAs that make up the Emohua/Ikwerre Federal Constituency said the move is aimed at ending the era where lawmakers fail to implement projects captured in the budget and funds fully released.
They said they took the sensitisation to the communities that make up the constituency to educate them of the projects already approved for them and the captured amounts for each of the projects.
Leader of the body, Bethel-Chimzie Okwu, disclosed this while speaking at the sensitisation in Igwuruta in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state on Thursday.
Okwu stated that the process started three months ago across the 27 wards in the constituency.
He explained that the constituency has often been plagued with the non-execution of projects meant for its people as approved, adding that monies meant for constituency projects have always been diverted.
Okwu said the body has written to the EFCC, ICPC and PRC to ensure that monies budgeted and released for the constituency projects are not diverted, adding that they will ensure that all the projects in the budgets are fully implemented.
He stated, “There are several projects that have not been executed, for example, in the 2019 budget, there was a particular amount of money allocated for the purchase of speed boats for people in Ikwerre-Emohua Federal Constituency, that was about N70 million that we saw in the budget.
“We went around looking for who these engines were bought for, who are supposed to be fishermen, but we could not find anybody.
“So that is why we are saying that this time around, we want to make sure any project that is coming, we will identify who it was given to, any person that benefited, we will know who benefitted.”
“We have already set in motion everything that will happen if by the end of this year, nothing happens. The EFCC, ICPC, and Fiscal Responsibility Commission are aware, and we have already told them that their core mandate is to ensure investigations and track up Federal Government projects across the country.
“And we have told them in a letter dated 7th of February that Ikwerre/Emohua Federal Constituency should be the priority. We will not take any chances.”
