The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara has denied a newspaper report that the National Assembly removed the Lagos – Calabar rail project and some other infrastructural projects proposed by President Mohammed Buhari in the 2016 budget.
The newspaper report had quoted an anonymous source at the presidency as saying the proposed N60 billion Lagos – Calabar rail project included in the budget was removed by the National Assembly.
It was also claimed that amount voted for the Idu-Kaduna rail was slashed, while the Lagos – Kano rail project was left untouched.
The speaker via a his twitter account @speakerdogara disclosed that there was no truth in the report since there was no provision for a Lagos – Calabar rail project in the budget submitted to the National Assembly.
He described the allegation as ,“barefaced lies. Where is the evidence of provision of N60 billion for Coastal Rail line in the budget estimate?”
He continued, “The relevant question to ask is, was it provided for in the budget estimate sent to NASS?”
“Who in the Presidency said so? the Presidential spokesman or Minister of Information? Name the source.”
He continued, “I guess from beer parlours as any reasonable man claiming so would have given the hard evidence.”
“Playing this North – South game is unhelpful”, he said. “That’s simply the goal of the planters of this factoid, “nothing like presidency involved here. It’s a shameless falsehood meant to stir hatred. It’s most despicable”, he added.
Similarly, the Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations, Abdulmumin Jibrin corroborated Mr. Dogara’s position.
“Lagos-Calabar Railway line was never captured in the budget that was sent by the Executive. How then could it have been removed by NASS?”, he asked.
Lawmakers Deny Reports On Rail Project: The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara has denied … https://t.co/N6LXIV5LAY