New day, new drama!

This seems to be the story of Nigerian lawmakers in recent time.

A disagreement between the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party over the continuous funding of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government degenerated into a verbal riot on Thursday, November 19, at the House of Representatives.

The lawmakers danced around the boundaries of violence without actually launching into the savagery of flying chairs and face-punches as was obtainable in past sessions.

Members remained on their seats, but kept shouting at each other in a manner suggesting that they disagreed on political party lines.

The rowdiness began as the House deliberated on the President’s N465.6billion supplementary budget.

The budget was sent to the National Assembly on Wednesday, November 18 by President Muhammadu Buhari and the House scheduled it for deliberations on Thursday.

The President had voted N413.3bn of the total figure for funding fuel subsidy.

The subsidy vote quickly became the main issue as Femi Gbajabiamila, the Majority Leader of the House, led the deliberation.

Soon enough an argument surfaced between the APC lawmakers after the House Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, brought into question the robust subsidy vote when the price of crude oil had plummeted to about $48 per barrel.

Ogor reminded Buhari of his campaign promises and urged him to scrap the subsidy regime.

He said: “We all know that the N413.3bn is huge and we know that the price of oil has also dropped to $48 per barrel.

“How can we be spending N413.3bn on fuel subsidy? The money should be coming down.

“This is the more reason the President should make good his promise to remove fuel subsidy”.

Gbajabiamila immediately called Ogor to order, requesting that he withdraw his “claim” that Buhari promised to remove fuel subsidy.

PDP members then interrupted him, shouting that he should “sit down!”

And that’s the end of today’s episode of House Madness…