Rep Bawa, while briefing newsmen, said the slash was done due to anticipation of deficit in the budget.
He also said the sum of N3 billion has so far been released for the execution of various projects in the 360 federal constituencies in the six geo-political zones of the country.
He denied the involvement of MPs in the execution of constituency projects, pointing out that such actions were the sole responsibility of the Office of the Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
According to him, the lawmakers only have the opportunity to propose certain projects and locations where the projects are to be situated while the MDGs office decides on the contractors to execute the projects and payment of the money.
According to him, though only 15 percent of the projects have been executed, each member’s constituency was allocated 40 million naira from the over 19 billion naira earmarked for the projects in the 2009 budget.
He explained that his committee has collected all members proposal for the 2009 constituency projects.
