Namdas says minister is angry over removal of N20B 'contingencies' cost

The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs,

According to a report by Punch, Namdas made this known while speaking with journalists in Abuja recently.

Namdas said members of the National Assembly were surprised that the Fashola's ministry would keep N20billion in the budget as “contingencies”, but chose to propose only N12bn for the 2nd Niger Bridge.

“The provision for contingencies was found only in Fashola’s ministry and the fact that we removed that money is where the anger is. We sourced another N30bn and added that N21bn, bringing it to N50bn, which was distributed to 15 other roads in the country,” he said.

Namdas also disagreed with Fashola that there was no existing Public Private Partnership funding agreement for the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

ALSO READ: Lawmakers tampered with minister's budget because it favored south

Speaking furher, Namdas said, “So, even if he says there is no PPP, but there is something like a loan by a consortium of banks, what do you make of that?

“Since he is not sure, we stand on our ground that there is a PPP in place and that the National Assembly acted right by re-distributing the money to the roads in the country, including South-West states.”

Continuing, Namdas said: " In 2016 the National Assembly appropriated N40bn for the road, out of which only N26bn was successfully utilised. The other N14bn was not released. It then means that even if we gave them the whole N31bn, there is no guarantee that they will release it. The National Assembly acted from a position of experience.”

Fashola had earlier raised an alarm over the insertion of projects outside the purview of his ministry in the 2017 Appropriation Act by the National Assembly.