Ministers Square Up to Senators at 2026 Budget Defence Sessions

The Senate chamber, built for measured debate and orderly oversight, last week crackled with defiance, wounded pride and raw political brinkmanship. What began as routine scrutiny of 2026 budget estimates morphed into a spectacle of shouted objections, gavel slams and daring ultimatums that laid bare the fault lines of power. Sunday Aborisade reports.

What should have been a week of sterile fiscal arithmetic inside the Nigerian Senate instead unfolded like a political drama. It is a reminder that in Nigeria, even budget defence sessions are arenas where hierarchy, party loyalties, regional sensitivities and personal pride collide.

As heads of ministries, departments and agencies appeared before lawmakers to defend their 2026 estimates, the committee rooms of the National Assembly became stages for confrontations that revealed as much about the politics of governance as about the numbers themselves.

From a near shouting match between two deputy whips, to a heated exchange between the Minister of Works, David Umahi, and Senator Adams Oshiomhole, and finally to a dramatic standoff over Ajaokuta Steel, the week exposed the deeper tensions simmering beneath the surface of legislative oversight.

The fireworks began during the joint Senate and House Committees on Works’ consideration of the Ministry of Works’ N3.245 trillion capital proposal for 2026.

Presiding over the session was Senator Rufai Hanga, Vice Chairman of the Committee, standing in for the substantive chairman. The early part of the sitting, which was aired live on major national television channels, was predictable: presentation, clarifications, nods of approval.

Umahi, confident and combative in equal measure, reeled out figures. Of the proposed capital allocation, N760 billion would fund new projects across the six geo-political zones. He separated these from ongoing legacy projects and assured lawmakers that the N7 trillion required to complete projects previously financed under the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited model would be sourced from the domestic bond market.

Then came the moment that changed the tone. Challenged over allegations of substandard work on the Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria–Kano road, Umahi threw caution aside.

“I invite the committee members to go for an on-the-spot assessment. If it is found not to be up to standard, I will resign.”

It was a bold political statement, not just administrative assurance. In an era of public distrust over infrastructure quality, Umahi’s vow was both defensive and daring. It also shifted the session from technocratic review to political theatre.

The more explosive confrontation, however, came not between the Minister and lawmakers, but among senators themselves.

When Senator Peter Nwaebonyi, the Deputy Whip, took the floor, he started diplomatically by commending the minister’s efforts. But he quickly pivoted to funding gaps.

“It is not just about approving projects. It is about funding them. Underfunding is not good and it gives the party a bad name,” he said.

The remark was politically loaded. It implied that insufficient releases, not lack of plans, could undermine the ruling party’s credibility ahead of future elections.

As Nwaebonyi continued, Hanga repeatedly urged him to summarise. The interruptions grew sharper. The response was immediate and fiery.

He replied in anger, “Please don’t interrupt me because you allowed Senator Adams Oshiomhole to speak for 15 solid minutes. I’ve barely spent about five minutes and you are telling me to round up. I won’t!”

What followed was less about budget lines and more about status. Nwaebonyi invoked his position as a principal officer of the Senate. Hanga responded with a firm assertion of his authority as presiding officer of the session.

When Nwaebonyi alluded to party hierarchy,  referencing majority status, the atmosphere thickened. Hanga countered by pointing to the strength of his electoral mandate in Kano.

In seconds, a technical session became a microcosm of Nigerian politics: majority versus minority, ranking versus presiding authority, ego versus procedure.

It took senior figures such as Senators Ali Ndume and Adamu Aliero to restore calm, reminding colleagues that beyond party labels, they remain equals under the Senate’s rules.

Yet the clash was instructive. It revealed the fragility of order when political sensitivities are triggered, even during routine oversight.

If the deputy whips’ clash suggested partisan undertones, the exchange between Umahi and Oshiomhole showed that party unity has limits. The flashpoint was the controversial N15 trillion Lagos–Calabar coastal highway project, which is one of the Tinubu administration’s flagship infrastructure initiatives.

Oshiomhole pressed Umahi on funding transparency and implementation delays. Umahi bristled.

“Sir, are you judging or asking me questions?” he asked sharply.

“You are not entitled to interrupt me,” Oshiomhole shot back.

The tension escalated when Umahi accused the senator of using “foul language.”

“You can’t use foul language on me. I’m a distinguished Nigerian. You cannot speak to me in that manner,” he said, visibly agitated.

Some senators sided openly with Oshiomhole, teasing Umahi over his brief tenure in the Senate before becoming minister. The subtext was unmistakable: legislative seniority still matters in the upper chamber.

Oshiomhole pivoted to praise President Bola Tinubu for ending the NNPC tax credit model for road projects, describing it as difficult to monitor transparently. Umahi agreed that private sector funding offered promise but blamed delays on unreleased allocations from the finance ministry.

In political terms, the exchange highlighted an emerging fault line: how to fund mega-projects without sacrificing transparency, and without exposing internal divisions within the ruling party.

If the Works Ministry session showcased political rivalry, the budget defence of the Ministry of Steel Development laid bare deeper frustration.

Nearly four hours into deliberations, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central was still interrogating the ministry over Memoranda of Understanding linked to Ajaokuta Steel Company.

She insisted she had formally requested copies of key agreements but was not furnished with them.

“I needed to be certain that due diligence was conducted,” she said. “But since I was not furnished with the MOU, I had to rely on third-party conversations.”

As host community representative, she framed her intervention as both legislative oversight and constituency duty.

When the Committee Chairman, Senator Patrick Ndubueze attempted to close the session, she resisted.

“No, please, do not interrupt. I still have something to say. You can’t do this to me,” she said.

“You have spoken enough and I have respected you enough,” Ndubueze responded.

The confrontation underscored a deeper issue: Ajaokuta is no longer just an industrial project; it is a political symbol of unrealised ambition.

Despite repeated assurances from the Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Audu, who detailed budgetary releases and projections, lawmakers expressed concern over the slow pace of progress and continued reliance on foreign investors.

Senator Isah Jibrin suggested activating specific production lines through domestic financing mechanisms rather than waiting for external partners.

The argument was practical, but the frustration was political. Ajaokuta, conceived over four decades ago, continues to test the patience of successive assemblies.

Taken together, last week’s confrontations reveal a Senate wrestling not merely with figures but with credibility.

At stake is more than the N3.245 trillion Works allocation or the N24.143 billion Steel budget. It is whether legislative approval translates into tangible results.

Are ambitious projects matched with timely releases? Can bond financing and private sector partnerships deliver transparency and speed? Will Ajaokuta finally move from rhetoric to reality?

In theory, budget defence is a technical exercise. In practice, it is political accountability in real time, with egos, constituencies and party reputations on the line.

For Umahi, the week underscored the dual burden of engineering and politics. For senators, it was a reminder that oversight is as much about asserting institutional authority as scrutinising numbers.

And for Nigerians watching from afar, it was proof that within the Senate chamber, the struggle over the nation’s purse is never quiet, and rarely predictable.

As the 2026 appropriation process advances, one thing is certain: if last week is any indication, the politics of the budget will remain as dramatic as the projects it seeks to fund.