The Office of the Deputy Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives has responded to allegations raised by Civic organisation, TrackNG, over the construction and furnishing of an ultra-modern conference and e-learning facility at Bende Secondary Grammar School, Bende, Abia State.
The project, captured in the 2024 Federal Government budget, came under scrutiny following concerns raised by TrackNG regarding its implementation and project location.
In a statement issued by the Deputy Speaker’s Special Assistant on Press Affairs, Udora Orizu, the office clarified that “legislators are responsible for attracting development projects to their constituencies, while implementation and supervision rest with the executive arm of government and relevant agencies.”
Orizu said in the statement that the Deputy Speaker does not serve as a procuring or implementing authority for Constituency projects, noting that “execution lies strictly with the appropriate government agencies.”
He said that the office would ordinarily not respond to such publications but chose to do so to prevent public misunderstanding of the role of legislators in Constituency projects.
According to the statement, “the inclusion of the Deputy Speaker’s image in connection with the project was misleading, as he has no direct role in contract execution or supervision.”
The office called on relevant procuring authorities to investigate the matter and ensure accountability in line with due process.
On the project location, statement clarified that the initial naming of Bende Secondary Grammar School was an error, as the school already has an ICT Centre. The project was originally intended for Onuinyang, and a corrigendum had already been issued to correct the location.
TrackNG had raised concerns over the project but had not issued a further response as of the time of filing this report.
