Tension Rocks House As Reps Adjourn Plenary Over 2026 Budget, Welfare Crisis

The House of Representatives on Tuesday abruptly adjourned plenary amid growing tension over the 2026 budget and internal discontent among lawmakers, stalling all items on the day’s Order Paper.

The sudden adjournment, which occurred after a heated closed-door session, marked one of the rare occasions in recent memory when the House suspended its business without considering a single legislative item a situation previously seen only in times of mourning.

Lawmakers are expected to reconvene today, with President Bola Tinubu’s ₦1.15 trillion loan request to fund the 2025 budget deficit likely to dominate discussions.

According to The PUNCH, the closed-door session revolved around grievances tied to the non-release of funds for constituency projects, the Federal Government’s failure to clear debts owed contractors, and mounting internal welfare complaints from members.

Sources revealed that the lawmakers’ anger peaked after the expiration of the one-week ultimatum issued to the Ministers of Finance, Budget and National Planning, and the Accountant-General of the Federation to clear unpaid obligations to local contractors.

Speaker Tajudeen Abbas presided over the tense sitting that began with routine proceedings before lawmakers entered an executive session lasting over an hour.

Upon resumption, the chamber descended into unease as Ifeanyi Uzokwe (Anambra) repeatedly sought recognition to raise a point of order but was ignored by the Speaker, who instead announced an emergency meeting of the South West caucus. Moments later, House Leader Prof Julius Ihonvbere moved for adjournment — a motion swiftly adopted.

Loan Request Hits Resistance

President Tinubu had expected the House to approve his ₦1.15tn domestic borrowing plan on Tuesday. However, lawmakers reportedly declined to consider the request amid discontent over welfare concerns and the uneven distribution of constituency funds.

In his earlier letter to the National Assembly, the President sought approval “to establish a ₦1.15tn borrowing programme in the domestic debt market to close the unfunded deficit gap created by the increase in the budget size.”

The correspondence, titled “Request for the Approval of the National Assembly for a Borrowing Programme to Fund the 2025 Budget Deficit,” cited Section 44(1–2) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, as the legal basis.

The tension within the Green Chamber took a deeper turn following a message circulated by Ismaila Dabo (Bauchi, Toro Constituency) on the House’s WhatsApp group.

In his post titled “My Concern and the Sad Reality About the 10th National Assembly,” Dabo lamented the worsening financial state of members, alleging that despite a 100% increase in the National Assembly’s budget from under ₦160bn to ₦360bn, most lawmakers were struggling to pay rent, service loans, or visit their constituencies.

He accused the leadership of widening inequality through lopsided budgetary allocations that favour Principal Officers while leaving ordinary members “begging in town.”

“The disparity is alarming. Imagine a Principal Officer executing ₦50bn worth of projects in your state while you, as a member, struggle with ₦1.1bn which isn’t even funded,” Dabo wrote.

He called for urgent reforms, proposing that members’ monthly allowances be raised from ₦12.5m to ₦30m, alongside a review of the House’s bloated committee structure, which he said had rendered oversight functions ineffective.

“The proliferation of committees has made us a joke before MDAs. We must act now, or this Assembly will go down as the weakest in our democratic history,” he warned.

Leadership Defends Itself

Following the uproar, Speaker Abbas reportedly invited Hon. Amos Daniel, Chairman of the House Committee on Services, to defend the utilization of the ₦120bn capital budget.

Daniel explained that the funds were spent on car parks, a new National Assembly hospital, a recreation centre, and official vehicles, but several lawmakers derided the purchase of “standing fans and dustbins” as misplaced priorities.

A North-Central lawmaker told The PUNCH that the Speaker’s meeting with President Tinubu also played into the tension. “The President assured us he’d fund the 2024 budget and 50% of 2025, but revenue pressures from debt servicing have crippled releases,” he said.

Efforts to obtain an official reaction from House spokesman Akin Rotimi proved abortive, as he did not respond to calls or messages. Similarly, Hon. Amos Daniel did not reply to inquiries as of press time.

With the House set to reconvene today, expectations are high that the loan request and internal financial grievances will dominate proceedings setting the stage for another turbulent session in the Green Chamber.