Tensions escalated when Sen. Ningi began to criticise the ministry’s renewed hope housing scheme, questioning its visibility and transparency.
The budget defence session of the senate committee on housing and urban development descended into heated bickering on Wednesday as senators clashed over the seeming repeated allocations for mass housing.
Tensions escalated when Sen. Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi central) began to criticise the ministry’s renewed hope housing scheme, questioning its visibility and transparency.
Earlier, the ministry disclosed it owes 6,455 contractors a staggering N92 billion for projects completed in 2024 while generating only N6.232 billion in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) during the same period. Representing the minister, who was on an official trip with the president, the minister of state, Yusuf Attah, admitted that many contractors had completed certified projects but remain unpaid, leaving them indebted to banks. He attributed the ministry’s low IGR to insecurity and inflation.
He said, “Many contractors have executed their jobs duly certified for payment but not paid, leaving the ministry with huge outstanding liabilities to the tune of N92,661,800,243.9. Many of these contractors are indebted to their banks, having borrowed the funds to execute the jobs.”
Speaking on the N100 billion 2023 supplementary budget utilisation, he said, “the amount released so far was utilised to pay outstanding certificates of payments owed to contractors for various projects such as the renewed hope housing cities and estates, completion of the national housing programme, construction and rehabilitation of federal secretariats and general improvements of infrastructure across the country.
“A total of 7,522 housing units spread across the 35 states of the federation and the FCT have been under construction, out of which 3,388 have been completed, while 4,134 units are still ongoing.”
Senators, however, focused less on the presentation and more on internal disputes over the ministry’s performance. When asked to explain the difference between the renewed hope housing scheme and cities programme and the national housing programme, he responded that he is new and also does not know the difference.
Accusing the ministry of failing to provide clear details about its projects and their implementation, Ningi demanded answers regarding the whereabouts of N22.6 billion unaccounted for from the N100 billion supplementary budget, further fueling the contentious atmosphere.
He also challenged the ministry’s lack of detailed reporting, saying, “This is music to our ears,” he said, adding that “these are very strange to us. I am from Bauchi State. I represent Bauchi State, I don’t know where you are doing this project, I don’t know how. Here I am representing the very good people of Bauchi Central. I have been here for up to one and a half years as senator, and I’ve no knowledge at all of this renewed hope housing. Is this renewed hope only to you or to Nigerians? Even as you’re not reporting details of what you’re doing, are you reporting details to Nigerians? Do Nigerians know of some of these things?
“I asked my colleagues, members of the Senate if they are aware of the establishment of this ongoing project, if they are aware of the ongoing project, if they are aware of the size of this project.”
Ningi stated further: “How I wish it wasn’t the state minister that is in our midst today. How I wish it was the minister. The only role in this National Assembly is this yearly ritual during the budget and then nothing happens until next year, and this is exactly what the ministry of housing does under the present leadership.
“First, I don’t see the components. We have not seen the personnel, we have not heard about overheads. So, what you are bringing today for defence is actually the capital component and therefore, the committee must arrange for you to also bring in the overheads and the personnel, which we have found in the course of budget defence to be very abused. I am not saying it is abused here.”
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He also sought clarification on the whereabouts of N22.6 billion outstanding from the N100 billion since the minister said N77 billion, or 77.3 percent, has been expended so far from the 2023 supplementary budget.
As Ningi concluded, Sen. Jimoh Ibrahim (APC, Ondo south) countered, defending the ministry’s timeline saying it is erroneous to say the projects are not visible when the implementation timeline has not elapsed.
Ibrahim stated, “Building houses, Mr chairman, you don’t acquire land in one day, do a survey one day, do planning in one day, do approval in one day. More important is the 20,000 housing units and again, in 35 states of the federation. So we know as senators, the fact that we had an extension for the capital projects in 2024. So it may not be out of place that the ministry is projecting and explaining how that intends to be done. Not that 2024 has come to an end and the capital budget has been released to them and they have not done anything. I just want to make that clarification.”
Jimoh’s defence sparked uproar among committee members, with several senators accusing him of acting as the ministry’s spokesperson.
Sen. Osita Ngwu (PDP, Enugu west), when yielded the floor, cautioned that as an oversight committee, it is only proper that the minister is allowed to respond to members’ questions. He said, “When we ask the committee questions, let us allow the ministry to respond.”
Ngwu further lamented the ministry’s unpaid debts, saying it had left hardworking Nigerians financially ruined.
The committee’s chairman, Sen. Aminu Tambuwal, eventually intervened, criticising the minister’s lack of preparedness. Following the development, he suspended further action on the presentation of estimates by the ministry and asked them to come back on Monday.
He said, “I have been doing some consultation here, and the signal I am getting from my colleagues is that we allow you to go and be better prepared. Come back on Monday.”
The decision to reject the budget was unanimously adopted by all members of the committee.
STAR Check: Nigerians, particularly, constituents of Bauchi Central district, can keep tabs on the legislative performance of Sen. Ningi throughout the 10th senate here.
