Fashola exposed over lies on bad roads in Benue

Babatunde Fasola, the Hon. Minister of works, has been exposed by the Senate over his claim that the National Assembly should be held responsible for the dilapidated state of Federal roads in Benue State. The Senate described the assertion as a “fallacy of the highest order”.

The minister was quoted to have made the allegation when a group of retired Generals and ‘other leaders of thought’ from Benue South Senatorial District led by Air Vice Marshal Morgan Monday paid him a courtesy visit in his office over the deplorable state of roads in the senatorial district.

The Senate Media Committee Chairman, Senator Ajibola Basiru, who spoke on the be half of the higher chamber, said the National Assembly can not and should not be held responsible for the dilapidated state of roads whether in Benue State or any part of the country.

Senator Basiru said though the Senate would not want to engage in any unnecessary altercation with the Minister, however, it is imperative to speak up because the issue of roads infrastructure is important and controversial, adding that it is necessary to put all the records straight so as to disabuse the minds of the unsuspecting public about the acts of the National Assembly.

The Senate spokesman said, “The records are needed 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 electorates.”

Putting the records straight, the Senate spokesman gave the figures of the 2020 proposal for capital expenditure as 265, 868 037, 093 billion Naira by the Executive which the National Assembly passed. The Executive later brought revised allocation of 256, 734,983,667 billion Naira which we also appropriated.

“As we talk, even in the budget proposal for 2021, the Executive proposed a capital expenditure of 363, 266, 425, 976 billion Naira.”

The Senate then wondered where the Hon. Minister got his figure of 600 billion Naira 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 Ministers guests from Benue State South Senatorial District to note that “figures do not lie”.

The Senate went on to list three road constructions which are ongoing in the Benue South to be Oju-Adum-Uwoku road at N 91,180 000; Oturko Township road at N357 200, 000 and Oju/ Loko-Oweto bridge at a cost of N357, 200, 000.

The Senate said that execution of the much talked about constituency projects lies within the Executive Arm of government through its various ministries, agencies and parastatals.

The Senate submitted that the Minister’s allegation to prioritising constituency projects over other projects, was merely calling a pity party and being sentimental, adding, the statement was made to set the National Assembly on collision course with the people they are democratically representing.

“It should be emphasized, therefore, that never has allocations specifically meant for other projects ever been diverted to constituency projects as constituency projects are having allocations in the budget”.