President Bola Tinubu has dismissed allegations of budgetary embellishments in the 2024 budget, asserting that those making such claims lack an understanding of arithmetic.
This statement comes in the wake of controversy surrounding the 2024 budget, with Senator Abdul Ningi of Bauchi Central alleging that over N3.7 trillion allocated in the budget couldn’t be accounted for in any project.
Senator Ningi’s allegations led to his suspension for three months and sparked reactions from concerned citizens across Nigeria.
Speaking on the matter, Tinubu while hosting the leadership of the Senate to a dinner to break the Ramadan fast at the State House on Thursday in Abuja, assured the lawmakers that their integrity was still intact. “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. “I am grateful for what you have been doing. The natural challenge we are facing will be over. “On the current economic difficulty, we are about turning the corner. Our revenue has improved. All we have to do is to control expenditure and manage ourselves better,” the President said.
