From JIDAUNA YANUNG, Abuja
The presidency said it is implementing only one budget contrary to allegations that the federal government is implementing a budget different from what was passed by the National Assembly.
It would be recalled that Senator Abdul Ningi, who is the chairman of Northern Senators Forum while speaking in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service alledged that the National Assembly debated and passed #25 trillion as 2024 budget and not the #28.7 trillion that is being implemented by the federal government.
The senator also accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of not being fair to all sections of the country by the ongoing implementation of the budget. But in a swift reaction, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement recently in Abuja, said the claim by Senator Abdul Ningi was ” false and there is no truth whatsoever in the allegations”.
He stated that ” Contrary to the strange view expressed by the senator, there was no way the Senate could have debated and passed a #25 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”.
Onanuga explained that Tinubu signed into law in January, 1, 2024, a budget of N28.7 trillion. The National Assembly in its wisdom, increased the amount proposed by the executive by N1.2 trillion.
On the allegations that the 2024 budget is anti North, the special adviser said, ” President Tinubu is leading a government that is fair and equitable in every part and segment of Nigeria.
Meanwhile, three senators from the North have described the allegations of budget padding by Senator Abdul Ningi as baseless, unfounded and a figment of his imagination. In a joint statement in Abuja recently, they warned against what they described as the ” Antics of blackmailers bent on creating an atmosphere of crisis in the Senate”.
