The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, refuted claims of budget padding in the 2024 budget during a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday.
Addressing journalists, Bagudu dismissed allegations made by Senator Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District, who claimed that the 2024 budget was padded by N3 trillion, suggesting the existence of two versions of the budget.
Ningi’s remarks were reportedly made in an interview with BBC Hausa Service over the weekend.
However, Bagudu clarified that there was no disparity in the budget, explaining that President Bola Tinubu submitted a budget proposal of 25.2 trillion naira, while the National Assembly increased it to 28.7 trillion naira.
“The Constitution mandates the president to submit the budget proposal to the National Assembly. The National Assembly has the final say in terms of appropriation. There can be no appropriation without additions, subtractions, or agreement to the one presented. The National Assembly deemed it fit to increase the budget from N25.5 trillion presented by the president to N28.7 trillion, which is what the president is working with,” Bagudu clarified.
