THE House of Representatives on Tuesday resolved to probe Minister of Works, Housing and Powers, Mr Babatunde Fashola over his comment on the 2017 budget as it relate to House powers of appropriation.
To this end, the Speaker, Honourable Yakubu Dogara named Honourable Aliyu Madaki as the chairman of an ad hoc committee to probe the minister.
A member of the House, Honourable Ibrahim Sadiq had raised a motion that his privilege had been breached as a member by the minister’s comment that National Assembly are ignorant about budget process.
He however said that House should not overlook the minister’s comment saying that the comment was a breach of their collective privileges.
While calling on the House to look into the matter, he said that, there is cordial relationship between the executive arm of government and the legislature, stressing that, the minister’s comment would further put strain in “our” relationship.
He then urged the House to set up an ad hoc committee to address the breach of member’s privileges and the incitement of Nigerians on the 2017 budget.
Speaking on the issue, the chairman, House committee on Public Accounts, Honourable Kingsley Chinda however said that the minister should be asked to appear before the relevant committee of the House.
Also, the Chief Whip, Honourable Alhassan Ado Doguwa on his part said that, by the action of the minister, he had succeeded “in breaching our privileges as an individual and as institution”.
It will be recalled that the minister and the National Assembly had been having running battle over distribution of road projects in the 2017 budget as well as alteration of the ministry’s budget and insertion of new projects by the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, the Majority Leader, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila has called for decongestion of prisons in the country, saying that, “most of the people who are in prisons currently don’t have any business being in the prisons”.
The lawmaker said that during the Sallah break he visited some prisons and got first-hand information about some people who are in prison but have no business of been there.
To this end, the he called on the House committee on Justice to look at the country’s law books and come up with a bill that would help decongest the prisons.
The Majority Leader spoke on the floor of the House based on personal explanation.