The war of words between Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola and the Senate is not abating any
time soon. On Wednesday, the senate during plenary had a debate over the comments made by Fashola that they do
not have the constitutional powers to alter the 2017 budget which the three ministries
he oversees submitted to them for
screening.
The Senate had slashed the funds allocated to some of the projects put in 2017 budget and Fashola had kicked against it. During
the debate, Senator Dajuma Goje who is the Chairman of the senate committee on
appropriation, faulted Danjuma for
challenging their authority to adjust the
2017 budget.
He asked Fashola to resign if the workload
in the Ministries he is supervising is too
much for him and that Fashola should not
mistake the National Assembly for the
Lagos state Assembly where as a former
governor of the state, he can wield some
power. Fashola who is in Zimbabwe has
now reacted to Goje’s comment.
In a statement released by his media aide,
Hakeem Bello, Fashola said Danjuma’s
comments were unparliamentary. Continue
to read the statement The Minister of
Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde
Fashola SAN on Thursday said it was
regrettable that the Senate Committee
Chairman on Appropriation, Senator
Danjuma Goje would seek to trivialize the
issues he raised about the unilateral
slashing of the budgetary allocation to key
national infrastructure by the National
Assembly.
In a Statement personally signed by the
Minister and sent in from Zimbabwe where
he is currently attending the 35th Annual
General Meeting of the Shelter Afrique,
Fashola said he was responding only for
the purpose of refocusing attention to the
issues at stake. According to the Minister,
the Senator’s reference to the patriotism of
legislators should not be spoken but
demonstrated as regards his calls for a
more developmental budgeting approach.
Explaining this further, the Minister
declared:
“In this context, it is left for Nigerians to
then decide whether budgeting for
constituency roads is more patriotic than
budgeting to complete the Kano-Maiduguri
Road that connects 5 states, the Lagos-
Ibadan road that connects 3 states and
helps to move food, imported goods and
fuel across the country; or the 2nd Niger
Bridge that connects the East and West
geopolitical zones of at least 11 states
together. “I will also leave Nigerians to
judge whether it is more patriotic to
budget for the Mambilla Power Project that
will contribute to more power across
Nigeria or reduce the budget to build street
lights in legislative constituencies.”
The Minister noted that the response to the
issues he raised certainly should not have
been accusations of his blackmailing the
Legislature or referring to those who
shared his views as his “surrogates”.
Reiterating his respect for the Parliament as
a house where very vigorous debates
about development should take place,
Fashola advised Senator Goje to acquire the
temperament for such debate and
disagreement. “Let me reiterate that I see
Parliament as a house where very vigorous
debates about development should take
place and it is important for Goje to acquire
the temperament of debate and
disagreement”. Decrying the Senator’s
admonition that he should learn how to
“behave” like a “Minister” and the
reference to the Senate awaiting how he
would be “handled” by the House of
Representatives, the Minister declared, “ I
think first that the language is
unparliamentary and therefore not
deserving of a reply”.
Noting that Goje’s faux pas gave a clearer
insight into how the Senator and those
who may be minded like him may be
thinking having transited from the
Executive arm to the Legislative arm , the
Minister called for caution. ” It seems that it
is such people who need a behavioural
prescription about legislative function,”
Fashola said. According to the Minister, a
good budget remains a necessary tool for
the Executive to do its work because when
services are inadequate, the members of
the public often look to the Executive arm
for answers. “ I need a better budget as a
tool to do my work and that is why l am
speaking out”, he said.
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