Obasanjo describes constituency projects as “corruption”, advises lawmakers to “act positively”

Ex President Olusegun Obasanjo has described the constituency projects being embarked upon by the National Assembly as “corruption.”

Obasanjo made his opinion known at the opening of a two-day investment forum organised by the Niger State Government in Minna on Monday.

At the forim themed “Impact of Investing for Advancing Agricultural Economy and Innovation”, Obasanjo said, “The Sultan talked about roads, I hope our lawmakers will use their position and act positively so that when they put in road projects in the budget they will not turn it into what they now term as constituency projects.

“You and I know what constituency projects mean. It is simply corruption.”

The former President had been engaging in verbal wars with the members of the National Assembly during and after his two-term tenure as the Nigerian president.

He once, reportedly, referred to the federal legislators as a “bunch of corrupt elements,” resulting in them  describing him as “the father of corruption in Nigeria.”

Obasanjo advised that the federal and state governments embark on extensive rural and urban road construction to aid the transportation of agricultural products from the farms to the markets.

“If there is anything that will take us out of recession, it is agriculture; that is the only renewable business we can do to give us all the job creation, wealth creation that we need,” he said.

Also speaking at the forum, an ex-military Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar, emphasised that in about 33 years, the world population would have grown to the nine billion mark.b He added that Nigeriawould account for five per cent of this global population, noting that by then food would be the greatest challenge.

Abubakar, therefore, advised that measures should be put in place to increase the cultivation of food and cash crops in the country to prevent the anticipated food shortage.

The Niger State Governor, Abubakar Bello, in his address, said the forum was not just for expression of ideas but also the implementation of such ideas.

Bello said, “The decisions and recommendations will be implemented”.

The governor disclosed that over 400,000 hectares of land are available in the Borgu Local Government Area of the state and another 500,000 hectares in the Lavun Local Government Area appropriate for the cultivation of rice and sugarcane and therefore urged investors to take advantage of the opportunity.

Declaring the summit opened, the acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, stated that states willing to collaborate with the Federal Government to develop federal infrastructure would be encouraged to do so.

Osibanjo said that the country’s quest for diversification “does not lie in hydrocarbon; the solution is to transform agriculture.”