Senate stops N4 billion first lady mission house project.

The Senate on Wednesday June 5th
dropped the controversial African First Ladies’
Peace Mission House project when it passed the
N259.65bn budget of the Federal Capital Territory
for the 2013 fiscal year without approving the
N4bn appropriated for it.
In February when the budget proposal was
brought to the National Assembly, it contained
N4bn vote for the construction of the mission
house in Abuja, a development that attracted a
lot of criticisms from members of the public.

The Senate, during the second reading of the bill,
questioned the rationale of committing scarce
resources to prosecute a less important structure.

Civil rights groups and political parties had also
berated the Federal Capital Territory
Administration for budgeting N4bn for the
construction of the building for a non-
governmental body headed by the wife of the
President, Mrs. Patience Jonathan.

They had contended that since the Federal
Government had earlier declared the mission as a
non-governmental organisation, it would be
inappropriate for the same government to spend
public funds on it.

Source: Punch