The Presidency has clarified claims by Senator Abdul Ningi that President Tinubu is operating a different version of the 2024 budget passed by the National Assembly.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga stated that the claims are false and divisive in a statement.
In the press release, the Presidency relayed the facts of the 2024 budget as approved by the National Assembly including the N1.2 trillion increase from N27.5 trillion to N28.7 trillion.
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What he said
He stated,
- “To begin with, President Tinubu on November 29, 2023, presented a budget of N27.5 Trillion to the joint session of the National Assembly made up of N9.92 Trillion recurrent expenditure, Debt Service N8.25 Trillion and Capital Expenditure of N8.7 Trillion. This was widely reported.”
- “He did not present a budget of N25 Trillion. Contrary to the strange view expressed by Senator Ningi, there was no way the Senate could have debated and passed an N25 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. It is also important to inform Nigerians that the budget President Tinubu signed into law on January 1, 2024, as passed by the National Assembly was N28.7 Trillion. The National Assembly, in its wisdom, increased the amount proposed by the Executive by N1.2 Trillion.”
The 2024 budget is not skewed to any section of Nigeria
Furthermore, the Presidency also denied claims by Senator Ningi that President Tinubu’s 2024 budget is anti-North calling the statement unbecoming of his status as a senator.
Mr. Bayo Onanuga stated that the President’s 2024 budget treated every part of the country justly and projects across different sectors are not skewed to any geopolitical zone.
Also, the statement noted that the President’s democratic disposition will not allow him to act in ways that are unconstitutional or flout the provisions of the Constitution.
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