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BudgIT confirms Ningi’s N3.7 trillion budget padding allegation
BudgIT, a civil society organisation dedicated to analysing Nigerian budget and public data, has expressed agreement with suspended Senator Abdul Ningi regarding a significant gap of N3.7 trillion in the 2024 budget presented to the National Assembly.
In an interview with Channels Television on Wednesday, Seun Onigbinde, the Director and co-founder of BudgIT, affirmed Ningi’s assertion that there was a lack of detailed allocation for the mentioned N3.7 trillion in the budget.
The suspension of Ningi, who represents Bauchi Central senatorial district, by the Senate on Tuesday was in response to allegations of two versions of the 2024 budget being passed in the National Assembly.
During his suspension, Ningi, who also served as Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF), accused the budget of being padded by N3.7 trillion and claimed that the North had been neglected under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
On the Senate floor, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, mentioned the establishment of a template for swift consideration and passage of the 2024 Money Bill following Ningi’s breach of privilege.
READ ALSO: Ningi steps down as chairman of Northern Senators Forum following suspension
Senator Adeola’s motion prompted a request for Ningi’s 12-month suspension over alleged criminal misinformation and breach of peace in the National Assembly. Eventually, the Senate agreed to a three-month suspension for the embattled senator after debates on the matter.
Speaking on the development, the BudgIT boss said there are “statutory elements” in the budget that do not have a comprehensive analysis..
Onigbinde said the allocations of the National Assembly, National Judicial Council (NJC), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and others do not carry a detailed breakdown.
He added that the people have the right to know how the funds earmarked for the aforementioned agencies are being spent.
READ ALSO: Senate suspends Abdul Ningi for 3 months following budget padding allegations
“Around N2 trillion of the budget presented by the president is the government-owned enterprises budget,” Onigbinde said.
“So, if Senator Ningi says there is a N25 trillion budget, yes, that is the MDA’s budget. It’s different from the government-owned enterprises budget which was now added.
“It is factual that he said that but it doesn’t mean that we are running two concurrent budgets.
“There is a different conversation that those projects should be detailed. TETFUND should not just get an allocation.
“What are you spending the money on? INEC is collecting a huge chunk of funds but there is no public details about what the funds are used for. The same thing with NJC, even the national assembly.
“In the current budget, the national assembly gave a very broad summary of its allocations but there are no detailed allocations on a granular level that everybody can interrogate.
“These are transparency issues and if you put all these together, that is around N3.5 trillion to N3.7 trillion. So, if that is what he (Ningi) wants to interrogate, there are components of the budget where there is no breakdown. That is very factual.
“But the national assembly needs to push back. We need a breakdown. What is NJC spending money on? We give more money to the NJC and say take it arbitrarily. What are they spending that money on? There should be a detailed breakdown to the public. On that point, Senator Ningi is right but to look as if we are running parallel budgets, that is not right.”
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