President Bola Tinubu has said that lawmakers who alleged that the 2024 budget had been padded did not understand the arithmetic of the appropriation act.
Tinubu spoke on Thursday night at the presidential villa during an iftar gathering for senators.
On November 29, Tinubu presented the national assembly with a proposed budget of N27 trillion for the fiscal year 2024.
On December 30, the national assembly approved the appropriation bill, increasing its size from N27.5 trillion proposed by Tinubu to N28.7 trillion.
Abdul Ningi, senator for Bauchi Central, sparked controversy earlier this month when he claimed that the 2024 budget was padded by N3 trillion and that the country is operating two budgets at the same time.
Following the claims, the Senate held a “committee of the whole” to discuss the issue.
The senator was subsequently suspended for three months for allegedly failing to provide evidence to back up his allegations.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio stated that the allegation would cause many Nigerians to lose trust in the upper legislative chamber.
Akpabio told Ningi:
“Nigerians are bashing the senate. Many Nigerians will never in future come back to respect this chamber. The integrity of this chamber has been damaged, and we wanted you to repair it with your speech.”
Addressing the legislators on the budget padding claims, Tinubu said the integrity of the Senate is intact.
The president said:
“I know the arithmetic of the numbers that I brought to the senate, and I know what I got back.”
“And I appreciate all of you for the expeditious handling of the budget. Thank you very much.
“Those who are talking of malicious embellishment in the budget didn’t understand the arithmetic and they didn’t refer to the numbers… the baseline of what I brought.
“All of your integrity is intact. I am very grateful for what you have been doing.”
“The natural challenge that we face will be over,” he added.
“On the economic challenge, we are about turning the corner.”