Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola says, his disagreement with the House of Representatives over his ministry’s budget should not be misconstrued, stressing that he is not fighting anybody over the budget.
The minister who made the clarification on Monday while fielding questions from State House correspondents, insisted that “there is no problem between me as an individual and the National Assembly, and let me make it very clear that many of the Senators and honorable members are my personal friends; so, you don’t fight your friends.’’
According to Fashola, “I say that the words that we use will potentially redirect our attention from what the real issue is. I don’t think that a feud is the right word to use.
“A disagreement; yes, a very healthy disagreement. Don’t forget that we are not disagreeing about who should head what. We are not disagreeing about who should take what share of the national cake.
“We are disagreeing about how to develop Nigeria and that for me is very healthy for our democracy.’’
He said the nature of his disagreement with the House of Representatives was not personal but geared towards finding the best ways of implementing the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the Buhari presidency.
Fashola expressed belief that the leadership of the National Assembly are on the same page with the executive on the implementation of the economic agenda of the present administration.
He however admitted that it was possible that “in the heat of the moment while trying to canvass our different positions we are misconstrued as fighting but I am not fighting anybody.’’
He added that his responsibility both as a minister and a citizen will be “to continue to engage,’’ stressing that he had no intentions of fighting anybody.
The minister however expressed confidence in the leadership provided by the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, the Senate President and the Speaker.
