…How Abbas Stopped Reps’ Move to Summon President
By Philomina Brando
The relationship between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and members of the House of Representatives came under strain on Wednesday as lawmakers insisted that the President and his economic team must appear before parliament to explain the poor funding of the 2025 budget.
The development followed a motion that exposed the executive’s alleged inability to adequately fund the budget despite approvals by the National Assembly, sparking tension and sharp divisions among lawmakers on the floor of the Green Chamber.
The motion, sponsored by the member representing Aba North/Aba South Federal Constituency of Abia State, Alex Ikwechegh, highlighted persistent delays in the release of capital funds to Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
The debate was further triggered by a constitutional point of order raised by the member representing Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie Federal Constituency of Delta State, Benedict Etanabene, who informed the House of a circular from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation suspending funding for zonal intervention projects pending fresh verification requirements.
Lawmakers across party lines expressed frustration over what they described as slow implementation of projects approved by the legislature, with many members backing the call to invite the President.
Attempts by some lawmakers to oppose parts of the motion were, however, drowned out by loud protests, forcing the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, to repeatedly call for order.
Moving the motion titled, “Urgent need to address the poor funding of appropriated budgets and delayed releases to MDAs as revealed during the 2026 budget defence sessions,” Ikwechegh stressed that the credibility of the appropriation process depends on timely release and utilisation of funds.
He said, “The powers of appropriation in the National Assembly, and the credibility of the budget rests not only on the size of the figures appropriated, but on the fidelity and timeliness with which appropriation funds are released, cash-backed, and utilised.”
The lawmaker revealed that ministers and heads of MDAs had, during the 2026 budget defence sessions, reported alarming levels of underfunding of the 2025 budget, with some sectors recording zero capital releases.
He added that the situation had triggered protests by contractors owed for completed projects, many of whom were struggling to repay loans obtained to execute government contracts.
Ikwechegh recalled that Tinubu had, at a Federal Executive Council meeting on December 10, 2025, directed the immediate settlement of verified contractor liabilities estimated at N1.5tn and approved the establishment of an inter-ministerial committee to address the backlog.
Despite this, he said the release of funds remained slow, stalling critical projects and eroding public trust.
“The House is concerned that notwithstanding the clear directive of the President, legislative approvals and ministerial assurances, releases to MDAs remain slow, if not non-existent,” he said.
He also criticised a Treasury circular dated June 29, 2026, which mandates a Certificate of Verification and Compliance before payments for constituency projects can be processed, describing it as an additional bureaucratic bottleneck.
Earlier, Etanabene urged the House to invoke its constitutional powers under Sections 4, 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution to summon the President and his economic team.
“We cannot explain to our constituents what is happening. Budgets are not being implemented. Today, we are running 2024, 2025 and 2026 budgets concurrently. This is not in the best interest of Nigerians,” he said.
However, Speaker Abbas ruled against the aspect of the motion seeking to summon the President, describing it as inconsistent with parliamentary practice.
“The issue of summoning the President… cannot be adopted by the House. Such action is unparliamentary,” he ruled.
Despite the Speaker’s intervention, many lawmakers remained agitated, expressing concerns that the suspension of zonal intervention projects could affect their political fortunes ahead of the 2027 elections.
Some lawmakers argued that the lack of project implementation could weaken their chances of re-election, while others attributed their loss of party tickets to the failure to deliver constituency projects.