Tempers flared at the Nigerian Senate on Thursday morning, January 16, at the 2025 budget defence of the Nigeria Police Force.
The presentation degenerated into rowdiness and rancour when two lawmakers raised concerns that the IGP’s presentation did not align with the documents they had received.
The committee Chairman’s attempt to allow the IGP to continue while the issue was yet to be resolved met strong resistance, leading to heated arguments among the sitting lawmakers.
Trouble started as the IGP read his budget speech, specifically highlighting the provisions made for various projects, including the plan to put in place five zonal police headquarters in the country.
A lawmaker from the House of Representatives, Hon. Mark Esset, interjected, disputing the figures reeled out by the police chief.
According to him, the figures the IGP read were different from those contained in the copies of his speech given to the committee members.
He was joined by Senator Nwoebonyi, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who also insisted that Egbetokun must distribute the copies he was reading to members and not the one already before them to be sure that they were working with the same document.
He shouted, “We are here to serve Nigerians and Nigerians should see us as a very serious institution.
“We are not against the presentation of the IGP, but I, as the Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, should have what the IGP is reading.”
After his point of order was overruled by the Co-Chairman from the House, Hon. Abubakar Makki-Yalleman, while the IGP continued to read from his copy, the senator stormed out.
“I am leaving; I am going. This country belongs to all of us,” he shouted.
At a point, Senator Onyekachi Nwoebonyi from Ebonyi North stormed out of the Joint Committee exercise.
The committee went on to hear the IGP without the boycotting Senator.
