Onyekachi Nwebonyi, senator representing Ebonyi north, and
Rufai Hanga, representing Kano central, engaged in a heated argument on
Wednesday during a joint budget defence session of the senate and house of
representatives’ committees on works with the ministry of works.
The session, chaired by Hanga in his capacity as
vice-chairman in the absence of Mpigi Barinada, the committee chairman, had
proceeded smoothly with presentations by David Umahi, minister of works, and
contributions from lawmakers.
The altercation began when Nwebonyi, while making remarks
largely praising the minister and urging colleagues to do the same, was
cautioned by Hanga to round off his comments.
Angered by the interruption, Nwebonyi said, “You cannot stop
me from speaking after allowing Senator Adams Oshiomhole to talk for 15 solid
minutes.”
“Please don’t interrupt me because you allowed Senator
Oshiomhole to spend not less than 15 minutes to make his remarks and
observations and ask questions without any interruption,” the lawmaker told
Hanga.
“I’ve barely spent about five minutes, and you are telling
me to round up. I won’t, and for your information, as the ranking presiding
officer, I can take over the proceedings of this session from you. That is the
protocol.”
Hanga, who is the senate deputy minority whip, responded by
insisting that Nwebonyi could not assume control of the proceedings and struck
the gavel, directing him to stop speaking.
The exchange escalated when Nwebonyi said, “I’m a ranking
senator of the ruling party that cannot be ruled against by a minority senator.
You cannot tell me what to say.”
Hanga fired back, saying the votes that brought him to the
senate were “10 times higher” than those secured by Nwebonyi in Ebonyi north.
He also accused Nwaebonyi of “bootlicking his boss”, in an
apparent reference to the senator’s political alignment with the minister, as
both men are from Ebonyi state.
However, normalcy was restored following the intervention of
Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno south, Adamu Aliero, senator representing
Kebbi central, and Akin Alabi, chairman of the house committee on works.
Earlier, Umahi urged lawmakers to conduct an on-the-spot assessment of the Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria–Kano road following allegations of poor work.
“I will resign if it is found not up to standard,” the
minister said.
Umahi disclosed that out of the N3.245 trillion capital vote
earmarked for the ministry in the 2026 budget, N760 billion is allocated to new
projects across the six geopolitical zones.
He said the new projects are separate from the four legacy
projects and the Akwanga–Jos–Bauchi–Gombe–Maiduguri road.
The minister assured lawmakers that the N7 trillion required
to complete road projects earlier withdrawn by the Nigerian National Petroleum
Company Limited (NNPCL) would be sourced from the domestic bond market.
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