Sen. Jarigbe Jarigbe.
A Nigerian Senator on Sunday abandoned a live interview on Arise Television to avoid “wahala” over the 2024 budget. Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe, representing Cross River north, had alleged that some “senior senators” got N500 million in the budget for constituency projects.
‘Wahala’, a Pidgin English terminology, loosely translates to ‘trouble’ in English.
Jarigbe’s disclosure immediately led to a rowdy session during plenary.
During the breakfast show, the host said she found it fascinating that Jarigbe said he did not familiarise himself with the 2024 budget, and that she had gone through the line items of the appropriation act herself.
But the senator in turn asked her if she knew how much was voted for projects in her senatorial district.
The anchor replied by saying she only scrutinised the budget by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and not by senatorial districts.
The chair of the senate committee on gas said he only wanted to speak about his “thanksgiving and representation to my people”.
Said the senator in a mix of pidgin and English: “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”.
The interview line went dead afterwards as the anchors repeatedly asked the senator if he was still there. He was not.
The budget came under scrutiny recently after Abdul Ningi, now suspended senator representing Bauchi central, said the spending act was padded by N3 trillion.