The Senator representing Cross River North in the National Assembly, Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, on Sunday, dropped out of a live interview session over probing questions on the 2024 budget.
Reports stated that before the connection went off during the interview session, Jarigbe had told his interviewer that he didn’t want to face any attack regarding the 2024 budget.
One of the anchors had asked the lawmaker, who was a remote guest on the Arise News Breakfast Show, some questions regarding the 2024 budget, to which the Senator replied that he didn’t scrutinize the details of the budget line by line.
He thereafter changed role but turning to an interview asking the female TV anchor to tell him, as a journalist who should know, the details of the budgetary provisions for her senatorial district, to which the anchor replied that she is not an elected representative of her people.
She added that she did not have the ‘arithmetic’ but only scrutinized the budget on the basis of Ministry by Ministry.
“I was not elected by the people of Cross River North, you are, it is your duty, I believe, not mine (to scrutinize the budget), but let’s move on…., ” the TV anchor said.
Reacting, Senator Jarigbe raised the alarm that his acceptance of the invitation to appear on the programme was to talk about his representation to his people
“Come oh, what is this budget, budget talk nah? I want to talk about my thanksgiving and representation to my people, you people are doing budget, budget, I will walk away oh. You people want me to say something that I will go and face wahala, you should allow me oh, let me serve my people quietly.”
Thereafter, the connection to Senator Jarigbe was lost.
It would be recalled that the 2024 budget has faced some questions of integrity after Bauchi Central Senator, Abdul Ningi, alleged that the budget was padded with N3.7 trillion.
Both the National Assembly and the Executive arm of government have refuted the allegation by Ningi and the lawmaker has been suspended for three months.
