Says “I Know the Arithmetic of Budget I Presented”
- By Halimah Olamide
I know the arithmetic of the budget I presented to the National Assembly and I know the figures that came back.
This was the statement by President Bola Tinubu in his first personal response to the budget padding allegations.
The president, while speaking during an iftar session on Thursday, said that those who made the allegations didn’t understand the basic facts of the budget.
I know the arithmetic of the budget and the numbers that I brought to the National Assembly, and I know what numbers came back. I appreciate all of you for the expeditious handling of the budget. Thank you very much.
“Those who are talking about malicious embellishment in the budget; they did not understand the arithmetic and did not refer to the baseline of what I brought. But your integrity is intact.” He said
NPO Reports that former Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum Abdul Ningi, has alleged that over N3trn was inserted into the 2024 budget and that the budget being implemented now is different from that passed by the National Assembly.
Ningi was suspended by his colleagues after his failure to satisfy them with the reasons for his allegations.
He is currently serving a three month suspension.
Tinubu’s statement Thursday evening was the first direct comment by the president on the controversy.