Uturu, Abia – Prominent Nigerian civic technology platform has accused first-term House of Representatives member Hon. Amobi Godwin Ogah of misleading the public by presenting a federally funded constituency project as a personal donation to unemployed youths, sparking calls for an anti-corruption probe into the initiative's transparency and equity.

In a pointed social media post early Monday, MonITNG, a group dedicated to tracking public projects and promoting accountability highlighted the distribution of mini-buses worth N100 million (approximately $60,000 USD) to beneficiaries in the Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency.

The project executed via the Federal College of Agriculture and Food Security in Ishiagu, Ebonyi State, was captured in the national budget as a public resource meant to address community needs, not as a private gesture, MonITNG asserted.

MonITNG decried the branding as an attempt to "desist from presenting constituency projects as personal achievements or distributing public resources in ways that appear to favour party loyalists."

"This is a budgetary provision meant to serve all constituents... not a personal or party-driven initiative," the post stated, tagging Nigeria's Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for immediate scrutiny.

The group raised pointed questions about the project's execution as to, "How were the beneficiaries selected? What criteria were used to identify unemployed youths? Was any credible needs assessment conducted before deciding that mini-buses were the most pressing need?"

MonITNG further contrasted the project with pressing local challenges, noting that "many schools and primary healthcare centres in the constituency reportedly lack basic amenities."

It described pupils learning in "poorly equipped classrooms" and health centers struggling "without essential drugs, water, and functional infrastructure," urging a shift from "empowerment items with unclear impact" to genuine public service.

Ogah, 45, a Labour Party (LP) lawmaker representing the rural Abia constituency since 2023, has positioned himself as a deliverer of development amid his party's recent electoral gains in the oil-rich state.

The controversy erupts just days after Ogah's high-profile "Second Year Anniversary and Mega Empowerment Programme" on December 6, which was hailed as game-changer for distributing vehicles, tricycles, and other items to constituents.

Reports described it as a "billions" splash though likely hyperbolic, it aimed at uplifting the unemployed and boosting local economies.

MonITNG concluded its call to action with a rallying cry that, "public funds must serve public needs, not political interests."