Victor EzejaThe Nigerian presidency has debunked the allegations by a Senator that the executive padded the 2024 budget by an additional N3 trillion.
The presidency was reacting to an allegation raised by Senator Abdul Ningi of Bauchi Central (PDP) that the executive is implementing a budget other than the one approved on January 1, 2024.
Speaking in a BBC Hausa Service interview, Senator Ningi claimed that what was passed on the floor of the National Assembly was a N25 trillion budget, not the N28.7 trillion that is currently being implemented.
He said: “Apart from what the National Assembly did on the floor, there was another budget that was done underground which we didn’t know.
“The new things we have discovered in the budget were not known to us. We haven’t seen them in the budget that was debated and considered on the floor of the National Assembly.
“For example, it was said that there was a budget of N28 trillion but what was passed was N25 trillion. So there is N3 trillion on top. Where are they, where is it going? So, we need to know this. There are a lot of things.”
The lawmaker, who spoke under the aegis of the Northern Senators’ Forum, claimed that in order to determine how N3 trillion was secretly added to the amount that parliament passed, the forum had hired consultants to assess the 2024 budget.
However, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement on Sunday said Ningi’s claims is “false”.
It stated that the president had initially presented a N27.5 trillion budget to the National Assembly on November 29, 2023.
According to Onanuga, the budget included N9.92 trillion for recurrent expenditure, N8.25 trillion for debt service, and N8.7 trillion for capital expenditure, adding that it was unbelievable that the Senate debated and passed a N25 trillion budget that was never presented.
The presidency further explained that the National Assembly only exercised its appropriation powers, and increased the executive’s proposed budget by N1.2 trillion from the N27.5 trillion presented by the President to N28.7 trillion, which was subsequently assented to by Tinubu on January 1, 2024.
Part of the statement read: “Contrary to the strange view expressed by Senator Ningi, there was no way the Senate could have debated and passed a N25 trillion budget that was not presented to the National Assembly.
“We don’t expect a ranking Senator not to pay due attention to details before making wild claims.
“It is also important to let Nigerians know that the budget that President Tinubu signed into law on January 1, 2024, as passed by the National Assembly was N28.7 trillion.
“We want to state categorically that the only 2024 budget that is being implemented is the N28.7 trillion budget passed by the National Assembly and signed by the President.
“Included in the budget are statutory transfers to the Judiciary, National Assembly, Tetfund and others. He did not present a budget of N25 trillion.”
Onanuga refuted the claim made by Senator Ningi that the 2024 budget was anti-north, adding that it was designed to serve all parts of the country equitably.
“President Tinubu is leading a government that is fair and equitable to every part and segment of Nigeria. In terms of funding, distribution of capital and priority projects, the 2024 Appropriation Act was not skewed against any section of the country.
“The North as an integral part of the country is well covered in all areas, from security to agriculture, healthcare to education, and other important infrastructure such as roads, rail, dams, power and irrigation projects to support all year-round agriculture.”
The presidency also expressed concerns that the senator could also deploy “such primordial antics to fuel divisive rhetoric at a time well-meaning Nigerians are joining hands with President Tinubu to raise the spirit of national cohesion, unity and inclusive politics.”
While the allegations by the Bauchi senator continues to generate reactions in the polity, events in the coming days would show how the Senate would treat the matter.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
