The Senate on Tuesday explained that the N3 trillion allegedly added to the 2024 budget was statutory transfers to first-line charge agencies of government not domiciled in the ministries.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Yemi Adaramodu, explained while speaking with journalists on the suspension of Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central) who raised the allegation that the 2024 budget was ‘padded’.
Mr Ningi had claimed in an interview granted to the BBC Hausa Service on Saturday that the 2024 budget was padded with about N3 trillion.
Mr Adaramodu said the 10th Senate needed to be treasured as a pillar of democracy and would only do what would promote national interest
He said there was nothing like budget padding, saying that the false narrative on N3 trillion padding was a demonstration of the error of arithmetic and innocence of procedure by the protagonists of budget padding.
“The N3 trillion is for statutory transfers of government agencies on the first lines charges.”
He listed the agencies to include Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Public Complaints Commission, National Judicial Council, North East Development (NEDC), and Niger Delta Development Commission Commission (NDDC), among others.
He also dismissed the issue of the provision of N500 million as constituency funds to senators, describing the allegation as a fairy tale.
He urged journalists to study the 2024 budget to investigate allocations to the National Assembly.
He said the issue of budget padding was a negative connotation and a serious crime in budgeting, hence the Senate did not take it lightly.
“It is a matter of integrity. Issue of budget has been put to rest as the protagonists of the budget padding were called to substantiate and they could not prove it but the allegations can not just go without being attended to.
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“The Appropriation Act is a public document and when it was done, it was done in the public glare and it was N28.77 trillion and so for some to say N25 trillion was what was approved is scary.
“Statutory transfers for agencies on first line charges, that are not domiciled in the ministries was what Mr Ningi said was padded, that the allocation cannot be traced.”
He reiterated that the N3 trillion was not padded and was not missing, but was for agencies of government that were placed on first-line charge.
He also said the allegation that a section of the country was allocated more funds than other regions was not put in the right perspective, saying that allocations were done sectorally.
The Senate spokesperson said the integrity of the National Assembly was in question, hence the matter was treated with the seriousness it deserved.
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