There was drama in the House of Representatives on Wednesday as Speaker Tajudeen Abbas stopped an attempt by a lawmaker to introduce a fresh prayer seeking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s appearance before the Green Chamber over alleged delays in the release of funds for capital projects.
Abbas ruled that the House could not entertain a prayer that was not contained in the original motion submitted in line with its Standing Orders, warning lawmakers against attempting to “ambush” the chamber.
The controversy erupted during the consideration of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Hon. Alex Mascot Ikwechegh on poor funding of appropriated budgets and delays in the release of funds to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
While presenting the motion, Ikwechegh introduced an additional prayer asking the House to invite President Tinubu to explain the persistent delays in budget releases, a request that was absent from the version earlier submitted to the Speaker.
The move immediately sparked protests on the floor.
Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, representing Pankshin/Kanam/Kanke Federal Constituency of Plateau State, argued that officials directly responsible for managing government finances—not the President—should be invited to explain the delays.
As opposition lawmakers objected, Abbas firmly rejected the new prayer.
“Hon. Mascot, you gave me a copy of your motion and what is contained in prayer five is that an ad hoc committee should be constituted to interact with the relevant agencies. It is wrong for you to attempt to bring in what is not contained here,” the Speaker ruled.
He insisted that lawmakers must respect parliamentary procedures.
“You cannot ambush the House. Bringing in extraneous materials into a duly submitted motion is not allowed. Honour begets honour and we should not be mischievous about what we do here,” Abbas declared.
Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu also reminded lawmakers that those who make laws must equally obey the rules governing legislative proceedings, stressing that due process is essential to protecting the integrity of the House.
Following the Speaker’s ruling, the motion was adopted through a voice vote without the controversial prayer seeking President Tinubu’s appearance.
Earlier, Ikwechegh had lamented that revelations during the ongoing 2026 budget defence showed many Ministries, Departments and Agencies received little or no capital releases under the 2025 budget despite legislative approvals.
He also cited protests by contractors over unpaid certificates for completed projects, warning that many firms had been pushed into financial hardship after borrowing from commercial banks to execute government contracts.
The lawmaker expressed concern that despite President Tinubu’s directive for the settlement of verified contractor liabilities estimated at about N1.5 trillion and the National Assembly’s approval of over N1 trillion in borrowing for the exercise, delays in fund releases continued to stall projects nationwide.
The House subsequently urged the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Budget Office, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure timely release and cash-backing of appropriated funds.
Lawmakers also resolved to set up an ad hoc committee, chaired by the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, to engage relevant fiscal authorities on budget implementation, contractor liabilities and the utilisation of approved borrowings, with a report expected within four weeks.
