Reps in rowdy session over motion to summon Tinubu

THE House of Representatives was thrown into a rowdy session yesterday after the speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, halted an attempt by a lawmaker to invite President Bola Tinubu to appear before the chamber over the poor implementation of the 2025 budget.

The heated exchange followed a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Alex Mascot Ikwechegh (Labour Abia), who raised concerns over poor funding of ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs, and persistent delays in the release of appropriated funds.

Moving the motion, Ikwechegh said disclosures made by ministers and heads of MDAs during the ongoing 2026 budget defence sessions revealed that several agencies received little or no capital releases in 2025, despite funds approved by the National Assembly.

He noted that the situation had stalled critical projects nationwide and triggered repeated protests by contractors owed for completed and verified projects, many of whom had taken bank loans to execute government contracts.

The lawmaker recalled that President Bola Tinubu had, at a Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting in December 2025, directed the immediate settlement of verified contractor liabilities estimated at about ¦ 1.5 trillion. 

However, he argued that despite the presidential directive, legislative approvals and assurances by the Ministry of Finance, releases to MDAs remained slow or, in some cases, non-existent.

Ikwechegh also expressed concern over a treasury circular reportedly issued on June 29, 2026, by Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, suspending payments for zonal intervention and constituency projects, pending the issuance of a Certificate of Verification and Compliance by the Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs.

He urged the House to commend President Tinubu for directing the settlement of contractor liabilities and to call for the immediate implementation of the directive.

However, the atmosphere changed dramatically when Ikwechegh departed from the prayers contained in his motion and urged the House to invite President Tinubu to personally appear before lawmakers to explain the persistent delays in budget implementation.

“We want to invite the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to this very hallowed chamber to explain to Nigerians why we are appropriating trillions of naira for projects that are not being implemented,” he said.

Before he could conclude the request, Speaker Abbas interrupted him, reminding the lawmaker that the proposal was not contained in the motion before the House, directing him to confine his remarks to the approved prayers.

Despite the speaker’s caution, the proposal had already sparked sharp divisions among lawmakers.

While some members applauded the suggestion, others rejected it outright, insisting that under Nigeria’s constitutional framework, it was ministers and heads of government agencies, not the President, who should be invited to account for budget implementation.

The disagreement intensified when Godwin Oga Mobi proposed an amendment seeking the postponement of the House’s Open Week programme to allow lawmakers focus on resolving the budget implementation crisis. 

The amendment was seconded by Sani Lawan.

Another lawmaker, Yusuf Gagdi (Plateau), declared his support for the substantive motion but opposed any move to summon the President. 

He argued that parliamentary oversight should be directed at officials constitutionally responsible for implementing government policies.

Gagdi subsequently requested that the House split the question so members could vote separately on the controversial proposal to invite the President and the other prayers contained in the motion.

His request immediately triggered loud protests from lawmakers, with members shouting across the aisle, as both supporters and opponents, attempted to drown each other out.

The chamber descended into a shouting match, forcing Speaker Abbas to repeatedly call for order.

Ruling on the matter, the speaker declined the request to split the question, insisting that the House would proceed with the motion as presented and in accordance with its rules.

The ruling eventually restored calm, allowing the House to conclude consideration of the motion.

To address the situation, the House urged the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Budget Office of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Central Bank of Nigeria to prioritise timely releases and cash-backing of appropriated funds, publish a clear schedule of releases for the 2026 fiscal year and conclude the verification and payment of outstanding contractor liabilities within a publicly defined timeframe.

The lawmakers also called on fiscal authorities to ensure that the over N1 trillion borrowing approved by the National Assembly was applied strictly to the settlement of verified capital project obligations and to provide a full account of its utilisation to the legislature.

The House further urged the Office of the Accountant-General to review the June 29 treasury circular and harmonise it with the President’s directive by introducing strict timelines for issuing verification certificates to prevent further delays.

As part of its resolutions, the House proposed the constitution of an ad hoc committee to be chaired by the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, to engage relevant fiscal authorities on the status of fund releases, contractor payments and utilisation of approved borrowings.

The committee is expected to report back to the House within four weeks with recommendations for further legislative action.

Culled from Vanguard