The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has described Senator Danjuma Goje’s statement against him as “unparliamentary”.
He said the legislator’s utterances were “therefore not deserving of a reply.”
Fashola decently slammed Goje in a statement he sent in from Zimbabwe on Thursday, July 7, 2017 – he is attending the 35th Annual General Meeting of the Shelter Afrique in the country.
The minister expressed disappointment in Goje, who is the Chairman, Committee Chairman on Appropriation.
He said it is regrettable that the Senator would trivialise the issues he (Fashola) raised about the unilateral slashing of the budgetary allocation to key national infrastructure by the National Assembly.
Goje had on Wednesday, July 5, advised Fashola to resign if his workload is taking a toll on him.
The lawmaker slammed the minister after he accused the National Assembly of removing key projects of his ministry in the 2017 budget.
In his statement, Fashola said Goje’s reference to the patriotism of legislators should not be mere words but put in action as regards 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 second Niger Bridge that connects the South-East and the South-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 supply across Nigeria or reduce the budget to build street lights in legislative constituencies.”
Fashola reiterated his respect for the parliament, saying it should be a House where vigorous debates about development should take place.
Support InfoStride News' Credible Journalism: Only credible journalism can guarantee a fair, accountable and transparent society, including democracy and government. It involves a lot of efforts and money. We need your support. Click here to Donate