Senate Committee Has Denies Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola's Claim On Budgetary Allocations To Road Construction

 

The Senate has taken exception to a declaration credited to Mr Babatunde Raji Fasola, the Hon. Minister of works that the National Assembly should be held responsible for the dilapidated kingdom of Federal roads in Benue State, describing it as a "fallacy of the best order"

The Hon. Minister become quoted to have made the allegation in his office in Abuja at some point of a courtesy name with the aid of retired Generals and 'different leaders of thought' from Benue South Senatorial District led via Air Vice Marshal Morgan Monday who came to whinge about the deplorable kingdom of roads within the senatorial district.

Speaking through its Chairman of Media Committee, Senator Ajibola Basiru, the Senate said the National Assembly cannot and ought to now not be held accountable for the dilapidated state of roads whether or not in Benue State or any a part of the u . S ..

The Senate which stated that although it might now not want to interact in any useless altercation with the Minister, however said that it has to talk up because the issue of roads infrastructure is important and controversial, brought that it is necessary to place all the information immediately in an effort to disabuse the minds of the unsuspecting public approximately the acts of the National Assembly.

"The records are had to be set proper so that the two fingers of presidency must not be visible as operating at go purposes inside the direction of handing over dividends and properly governance to electorates"

Putting the facts straight, the Senate gave the figures of the 2020 suggestion for capital expenditure as 265, 868 037,093 billion Naira with the aid of the Executive which the National Assembly handed.

The Executive later delivered revised allocation of 256, 734,983,667 billion Naira which we also appropriated. "As we speak, even in the budget suggestion for 2021, the Executive proposed a capital expenditure of 363, 266, 425, 976 billion Naira.

The Senate then puzzled in which the Hon. Minister got his determine of 600 billion Naira which he said changed into the parent proposed to the National Assembly through his ministry and which become allegedly now not supported or approved by using the National Assembly.

The Senate consequently invitations Nigerians and specifically the Ministers guests from Benue State South Senatorial District to notice that "figures do not lie"
The Senate However indexed three avenue structures which are ongoing inside the Benue South to be Oju -Adum Okuku avenue at N ninety one,180 000, Oturko Township avenue at N357 200, 000 and Oju/ Loko - Oweto bridge at a value of N357, two hundred, 000.

On the Minister's allusion and or allegation to prioritising constituency projects over other initiatives, the Senate affirmed that the Hon Minister become simply calling a pity party and being sentimental adding the declaration was made to set the National Assembly on collision route with the humans they're democratically representing.

"It should be emphasised therefore that in no way has allocations specially supposed for different tasks ever been diverted to constituency tasks as constituency projects are having allocations within the finances"

The Senate said that execution of the much mentioned constituency tasks lie within the Executive Arm of presidency via its various ministries, companies and parastatals.