Lawmakers exchange blows during budget presentation

Some All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers and their Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterparts exchanged blows during the presentation of the 2019 by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday.

Trouble started after some APC lawmakers seized the placards which their PDP colleagues planned to use in protesting against the president.

Some of the lawmakers came to the plenary with placards bearing inscription “Freedom cometh by struggle”.

Some of the APC lawmakers, especially from the north, had asked their colleagues to stop the jeering and solidarity chants.

Bashir Babale, an APC lawmaker from Kano state, rushed to where some of his PDP colleagues were seated, and to tear their placards.

This led to a rancour. Some of the torn placards littered the floor of the chamber.

Efforts by both Senate President Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house, to calm the jeering lawmakers were unsuccessful.

The chaos lasted for over 10 minutes until after the president had settled down.

His budget presentation speech was also marred with constant jeering and cheering at various stages.