THE FALL AND FALL OF SUPER MINISTER FASHOLA

These are not the best of times for three-in-one Minister Raji Babatunde Fashola who is presently having a lot to munch in his mouth and not only is his personal integrity is fast ebbing away with the myriad of problems he’s presently facing; his face-saving antics of the past two to three weeks have now fallen flat on his face.

Global News can now authoritatively report that these are indeed difficult times for super Minister of Power, Works and Housing. Fashola who got one of the best Portillos in this administration entered the government of President Mohammad Buhari with high hopes and renewed gusto but soon fell out of favour of all and sundry around him

As you read this, we gathered Fashola who is now at loggerheads with many of his contemporaries in Abuja and his personal aides is now so aloof and disconnected from the centre of centre in the scheme of things in Abuja. With things not going the way he had envisaged before getting the very juicy but tasking portfolio Fashola is now the shadow of his old self when compared with his days as the Governor of Lagos State where he held sway for eight years.

To make matters worse for him, he is now in a bigger mess with the federal lawmakers in both chambers and part of the big boys in the executive arm of PMB’s government who reportedly do not like his guts. In the last three weeks, Fashola had landed in so many troubles than the ones he encountered for eight years as Lagos State Governor.

Just two weeks ago, Fashola was involved in war of words with members of the upper house of the National Assembly accusing the lawmakers of budget padding with regards to the budget for his ministry. The House of Representatives in retaliation had hammered Minister Fashola for claiming that the National Assembly included loads of projects that were not presented in the budget defence before the committees. They also reduced him to a mere micro-economic student by accusing him of misleading the general public with simple arithmetic that don’t add up.

Fashola had claimed that the budget for Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was reduced from N31 billion to N10 billion; that of 2nd Niger Bridge was reduced from N15b to N10b (actually N12b to N7b); and that about N3 billion was also removed from Okene-Lokoja-Abuja Road. He also said the Budget for Mambila Power Project was also cut.

And as you read this, we hear Fashola who has been called upon by the upper house to resign his appointment as the substantive Minister of Power,Works and Housing, if the job is overwhelming? This is very well snookered by the powerful leadership of the National Assembly. Reports also say he is at the moment lying low in Abuja and probably trying to come up with a new face-saving strategy that will redeem his well-battered image.