TheCable

Jarigbe Jarigbe, senator representing Cross River north, on Sunday abandoned a live interview on Arise Television to avoid “wahala” over the 2024 budget.

‘Wahala’, a Pidgin English terminology, loosely translates to ‘trouble’ in English.

Jarigbe was the senator who alleged that some “senior senators” got N500 million in the budget for constituency projects.

His 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.

Senator Jarigbe says he did not scrutinize the budget, walks out of ARISE News Interview

He’s caught on hot mic saying we want to put him ‘in wahala’ I wonder who with? pic.twitter.com/EEu4fCiGDz

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— Adesuwa (@Adesuwa_G) March 31, 2024

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”.

“Come oh, what is this budget, budget talk nah?,” the senator said in a mix of pidgin and English.

“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.