Ex-NBA 2nd VP. Ubani, Urges Buhari To Stop N37B Parliament Complex Renovation

A former second vice president of the Nigerian Bar Association
(NBA), Monday Onyeakachi Ubani, has asked President Muhammadu
Buhari to stop the release of funds for the renovation of the
National Assembly complex.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on Tuesday, December 17, signed
the 2020 appropriation bill of N10.50 billion into law.

The approved budget has a vote of N37 billion for the renovation
of the National Assembly complex, the building that accommodates
the offices and complex for the country’s lawmakers.

Curiously, the amount is higher than the money allocated for the
maintenance of all federal roads in 2020.

In the budget, the agency responsible for the maintenance of the
federal roads, the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), has an
allocation of N36 billion to repair the broken roads that stretch
across Nigeria’s 32,980 km road network.

Ubani, said Buhari should stop the release of the humongous
amount for the maintenance of the complex if he is indeed fighting
corruption.

Asked if the President has the powers to do so, he said yes.

“Legally, the President can refuse to release the money,” he
said.

He argued that since it is the executive branch of the
government that releases the money, the president could as well
treat the renovation of the National Assembly as one of those many
projects that have been budgeted for but not implemented because of
the lack of funds.

He said it would be very contrary to what Buhari has been
preaching about corruption if he goes ahead to implement the N37
billion for the repairs of the National Assembly.

“That kills all his fight against corruption. It will mean that
he didn’t mean all he was saying about the fight against corruption
if he releases the N37 billion to fund the maintenance of the
National Assembly.

“It will mean that he is encouraging corruption not fighting
it,” he said.