The Senate has described as “fallacy of the highest order” a statement credited to the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN), on the state of Nigerian roads.
Fashola, according to the red chamber, alleged that the National Assembly members should be held responsible for the poor state of the federal roads in Benue State.
The upper chamber accused the minister of trying to incite members of the public against the federal lawmakers by his allegation. The Senate stated this in a statement by its spokesperson, Dr Ajibola Basiru, titled, ‘Senate debunks minister’s claim on budgetary allocations to road construction’, issued in Abuja on Sunday. The red chamber said it took exception to the statement credited to Fashola that the National Assembly should be held responsible for the dilapidated state of federal roads in Benue State, describing it as a “fallacy of the highest order.”
Basiru said the minister was quoted to have made the allegation in his office in Abuja during a courtesy call on him by retired Generals and other leaders of thought from Benue South Senatorial District led by Air Vice Marshal Morgan Monday.
The Benue elders were said to have visited Fashola to complain about the deplorable state of roads in the senatorial district. Basiru said the National Assembly could not, and should not be held liable for the dilapidated state of roads, whether in Benue State or in any other part of the country.
He said: “The records need 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 figure 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 minister got his figure of N600bn, 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 the Benue State South Senatorial District to note that figures do not lie.”
The Senate listed three road projects, which are ongoing in Benue South as the Oju-Adum Okuku Road at N91, 180, 000, Oturkpo Township Road at N357, 200,000, and the Oju/Loko-Oweto Bridge at a cost of N357, 200,000.
Basiru said, “On the minister’s allusion and or allegation of prioritising constituency projects over other projects, the Senate affirmed that the minister was merely calling a pity party and being sentimental.” Punch
