The Presidency has denied claims of budget inflation for fiscal year 2024, stating that the national budget will not increase by ₦3 trillion.
The controversy erupted in response to statements made by Senator Abdul Ningi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who represents Bauchi Central Senatorial District.
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Senator Ningi claimed in a BBC Hausa report that President Bola Tinubu’s government overspent its budget by ₦28 trillion, exceeding the National Assembly’s approval of ₦25 trillion.
“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,” the senator alleged.
However, the Presidency swiftly responded, clarifying that the National Assembly had only augmented the executive proposal by ₦1.27 trillion and “not see where the ₦3tn is coming from.
Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, noted that the signed budget reflected the approved figure sanctioned by both houses of the National Assembly.
“What we know is that the NASS approved a budget of ₦28tn which the President signed. What the President signed was the budget approved by the National Assembly, by the two houses.
“The 2023 supplementary budget was passed separately to run concurrently with this year’s budget until March,” Bayo Onanuga stated.
Echoing this stance, Senate Spokesperson Senator Yemi Adaramodu refuted Senator Ningi’s claims, affirming that the budget remained a transparent public document.
“There is no budget padding as far as the Senate and the National Assembly are concerned.
“The national budget is a public document, which expressly states the expected revenue and the expenditure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The Senate under the leadership of Senator Godswill Akpabio is not aware of any varied execution of the 2024 appropriation mandate, as approved,” Adaramodu stated.
