Oyo Lawmaker Denies Receiving N1bn for Capital Project Allocation

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

A federal lawmaker from Oyo State, Ms Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, has denied allegations that she collected N1 billion meant to support rural development efforts and address socio-economic and infrastructure challenges in her constituency.

The funding support, termed capital project allocation, is usually facilitated by the lawmakers at the National Assembly and released by the federal government to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for each constituency.

It was speculated that Ms Akande-Sadipe, a member of the House of Representatives representing Oluyole Federal Constituency, has received about N1 billion.

But in a statement issued by her media team on Monday, the lawmaker, who chairs the House Committee on Humanitarian Services, described reports that she and others have been getting N1 billion each since the removal of fuel subsidy in 2023 as misleading.

“This statement is false, misleading, and misrepresents the ongoing efforts of the federal government under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu,” a part of the statement made available to Business Post read.

She stressed that no legislator receives funds directly for the implementation of constituency projects, noting that all interventions by the central government are executed by relevant MDAs as stipulated in the national budget.

However, Ms Akande-Sadipe stated that the recent policy development in 2025 budget proposed an increase in the capital project allocation for each federal constituency to N1 billion., stating that this was only recently introduced.

“This development is a strategic response to the rising inflation and increased government revenues following the removal of petroleum subsidies and the floating of the foreign exchange rate.

“This policy was not part of the 2023 or 2024 budgets. It is a new initiative, reflected the first time, in the 2025 budget proposal and its implementation is expected to commence later this year through the first quarter of 2026,” she clarified

She commended President Tinubu’s foresight and administration for ensuring proper execution of projects through appropriate MDAs, stating, “As with previous constituency projects, these interventions will be executed through the appropriate MDAs.”

“Lawmakers only recommend and provide oversight to ensure that projects meet the needs of their constituencies and are executed within budgetary timelines and standards,” she added.

“We urge the general public to disregard misinformation aimed at misleading citizens in a bid to pitch them against their representative for political reasons (IBON OSELU). She implores constituents across the nation to always seek verified updates from reliable official sources,” Ms Akande-Sadipe posited.