The Minister
of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, yesterday apologised to
members of the House of Representatives over his comments on this
year’s
budget.
He was
quoted by the media to have condemned the reviews of some estimates in the
budget by the National Assembly. But appearing before a panel of the House,
headed by Aliyu Madaki (APC, Kano), following a summon for making what they
described as unguarded comments, Fashola said he had referred to the
spokesperson of the House, Abdulrazak Namdas, in describing the members as
possessing “stark and worrisome knowledge of the budget process,” and not the
entire House.
It was after
he was reminded that responses and reactions of the House spokesperson
represented the general views of members that he apologised, saying his
comments were without disparaging intents and might have stemmed from his
grievances over the slashing of budgetary estimates of some road projects in
the budget by the National Assembly.
For about
three hours, the minister, who was grilled by the panelists, lamented that the
reductions affected three priority road projects of the administration, namely
constructions of Second Niger Bridge, Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa Road and Lagos-Ibadan
Expressway.
Accoding to Guardian, Some members
of the committee queried why federal roads in and across their constituencies
were not prioritised in the Appropriation Bill. “Honourable members, if my
statements on the budget have caused any discomfort beyond what I intended to
convey, I apologise.
“We’re not
fighting; we can disagree to agree. As to whether or not parliament can
intervene in the budget process, I have made my position clear. I cannot say
that the parliament cannot intervene in the process, “ Fashola said.
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