As members of the National Assembly intensify efforts to pass the 2016 budget, Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, have rejected the N10 billion voted in the budget of the Ministry of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for building their official residences and called for a cut in the vote.
Saraki and Dogara also said that in view of the economic situation in the country and the need for public officials to be frugal, building houses worth N6bn and N4bn respectively for them was insensitive.
Consequently, Saraki and Dogara last week agreed that the cost of the buildings should be reduced to N1 billion each to save the country N8 billion.
It was gathered that the two top lawmakers informed the chairmen of the Committees on FCT in both chambers to reflect the decision in their reports to their Committees on Appropriation.
Moreover, the two lawmakers said the FCT Ministry should scale down the cost of the projects or forget the idea until after their tenure.
Saraki was living in his personal house in Maitama area of Abuja until a fire incident last year forced him to relocate to an official guest house while Dogara stays in rented apartment.
-Leadership