Legislative Constituency Projects in Nigeria: A Matter of Constitutionality or Political Expediency?

Abstract

At the dawn of the Fourth Republic in Nigeria there was the quest by legislators to provide visible evidence of “dividends of democracy” to their constituencies. The quest has resulted in the implementation of constituency projects in one form or the other in Nigeria. The operation or implementation of these projects has caused controversy, sometimes resulting in delays in the passage of Appropriation Bills into law. This paper examines the concept of constituency projects in Nigeria, from the point of view of the constitutionality, legality and practicability thereof. The author comes to the conclusion that as laudable as the avowed goal of the concept is, the path to robust constitutionalism in a developing democracy, like Nigeria, is to discontinue constituency projects.

Keywords: constituency projects, “dividends of democracy”, constitutionality, constitutionalism.