The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has criticised the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Danjuma Goje, for his comments concerning complaints the minister made about the input of the National Assembly in his ministry’s budget.
Fashola and the lawmakers have traded accusations since late June when he accused the National Assembly of unilaterally slashing budgetary allocation for key projects such as the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the 2nd Niger Bridge.
Although the National Assembly had issued a statement describing the minister’s complaints as an attempt to blackmail the legislature, its members have continued to react to the issue and other disagreements with the executive.
During the Senate’s plenary on Wednesday, one day after the House of Representatives summoned the minister to defend his comments, Goje described the lawmakers as patriotic Nigerians and urged Fashola to behave like a minister or resign if he felt overwhelmed by his responsibilities.
The minister, however, fired back on Thursday in a statement by his Special Adviser on Communications, Mr Hakeem Bello.
According to Fashola, Senator Goje’s reference to the patriotism of legislators should not be spoken but demonstrated with regard to his calls for a more developmental budgeting approach.
“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 five states, the Lagos-Ibadan road that connects three 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,” he said.
“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.”
He added that he expected the lawmakers to respond to the issues he raised rather than accuse him of blackmailing the legislature.
“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,” he said.
On the Senator’s comments about his behaviour, he said, “I think first that the language is unparliamentary and therefore not deserving of a reply.”
Noting that Goje, a former governor of Gombe State, and some other lawmakers transited from the executive arm of government to the legislative arm, Fashola said, “It seems that it is such people who need a behavioural prescription about legislative function.”
He explained that his comments about the budget were as a result of his desire to function effectively.
“I need a better budget as a tool to do my work and that is why l am speaking out,” he said.
