There was drama in the National Assembly yesterday as the lawmakers rejected the 2025 budget proposals of the Federal Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development and directed the minister to come back on Tuesday and represent himself before the committee.
The lawmakers had faulted the shoddy budget presentation by the ministry and frowned at so many loopholes in the documents presented, saying it showed lack of preparedness on the part of the ministry.
Chairman of the joint committee for the budget defense, Senator Aminu Tambuwal specifically asked the minister to make a clear difference between the Renewed Hope Housing Project and the National Housing Development project, which he said remain ambiguous to the lawmakers.
Senators Jimoh Ibrahim (APC Ondo North) and Abdul Ningi (PDP Bauchi Central) took on each other over the 2025 budget defense of the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, which led to a brief halt in the budget defense.
The drama began when Senator Ningi had took on the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Yusuf Abdulahi up on the Renewed Hope Housing project which he said was not visible in his state even after one year of implementation, but Senator Jimoh Ibrahim immediately rose in defense of the minister saying the project is known all over the country.
His response drew the wrath of other lawmakers who chided Ibrahim for rising in defense of the minister, saying it was not in his place to do so.
As tension grew among the lawmakers, the committee chairman, Senator Aminu Tambuwal beckoned on Jimoh Ibrahim to calm down, but he angrily replied “Chairman don’t call my name”, and Tambuwal also replied him “I will call your name.”
After a quick intervention by the chairman of the committee, the situation later returned to normalcy as both Ningi and Ibrahim exchanged banter before the committee decided to suspend the sitting till Tuesday next week to allow the minister to be better prepared for the budget defense.
The Minister of State for Housing, Yusuf Abdulahi, who represented the Minister of Housing in presenting the ministry’s estimate for the 2025 fiscal year before the Committee confessed that he did not know the difference between the two because he only resumed work a few weeks ago.
The minister subsequently referred the question of the senators to the Director of Works in the ministry.
Senator Abdul Ningi, while responding to the estimate presented by the Ministry, raised objections, accusing the minister of not defending its budget before the Senate.
