By Abiola Olawale
The Presidency has denied allegations made by the Northern Senators’ Forum that the 2024 budget was padded by N3 trillion.
The presidency also denied claims by Senator Abdul Ningi, who represents the Bauchi Central Senatorial district, that President Tinubu is operating a different version of the 2024 budget passed by the National Assembly.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement issued on Sunday stated that the claims of Ningi are false and divisive.
In the press release, the Presidency relayed the facts of the 2024 budget as approved by the National Assembly including the N1.2 trillion increase from N27.5 trillion to N28.7 trillion.
The Presidency stressed that it was implausible for the Senate to have debated and passed an N25tn budget that was never presented.
The statement reads, “Contrary to the strange view expressed by Senator Ningi, there was no way the Senate could have debated and passed an N25tn 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 N28.7tn,” the presidency insisted.
The New Diplomat reports that this followed accusations by Ningi that the executive is implementing a budget other than the one approved on January 1, 2024.
Ningi, under the aegis of the Northern Senators’ Forum, had contended in a BBC Hausa Service interview that the Federal Government was executing a budget significantly higher than what was passed by the National Assembly. He alleged that the budget which was passed during plenary was reworked underground and padded with N3trn.
