The Senate on Sunday knocked the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), over his statement on the state of Nigerian roads.
The upper legislative chamber, in a statement issued by his spokesman, Dr. Ajibola Basiru, described as “fallacy of the highest order,” the claim by the ex-Lagos governor that the National Assembly members should be held responsible for the poor state of the federal roads in Benue State.
He accused Fashola of trying to incite members of the public against the federal lawmakers with his allegation.
Basiru said the National Assembly could not, and should not be held responsible for the dilapidated state of roads whether in Benue State or in any part of the country.
The spokesman said “It is necessary to put all the records straight so as to disabuse the minds of the unsuspecting public about the acts of the National Assembly.
“The records are needed to be set right so that the two arms of government should not be seen as working at cross purposes in the course of delivering dividends and good governance to the electorate.
“Putting the records straight, the Senate gave the figures of the 2020 proposal for capital expenditure as N265, 868 037,093 by the Executive which the National Assembly passed.
“The Executive later brought revised allocation of N256, 734,983,667 which we also appropriated.
“As we talk, even in the budget proposal for 2021, the Executive proposed a capital expenditure of N363, 266, 425, 976.
“The Senate then wondered where the Hon. Minister got his figure of N600billion which he said was the figure proposed to the National Assembly by his ministry and which was allegedly not supported or approved by the National Assembly.
“The Senate, therefore, invites Nigerians and specifically the minister’s guests from Benue State South Senatorial District to note that ‘figures do not lie.”
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