Despite recent accusations of budget padding, President Bola Tinubu assured the 10th Senate leadership on Thursday that the National Assembly’s integrity is unaffected.
He declared that for the benefit of the country, his administration will always support collaboration between the executive and judicial branches.
This was stated by Tinubu during a dinner he held for the Senate leadership on Thursday at the State House in Abuja to break the Ramadan fast.
This was revealed in a statement issued early on Friday under the heading “President Tinubu: We will not allow anyone to undermine our security; killers of soldiers in Delta State will face certain justice,” by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Advisor to the President on Media and Publicity.
According to Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central), the Tinubu-led administration runs on a different budget than the one that was authorized on January 1, 2024.
In an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, Ningi, the chair of the Senate Committee on Population and the Northern Senators’ Forum, said that a N25 trillion budget—rather than the N28.7 trillion that is currently in effect—was reviewed and approved.
According to him, the 2024 budget could not account for N3.7 trillion.
But because of this allegation, the Senate suspended Senator Ningi for three months during the March 12 session.
Reacting to the allegations for the first time in public, Tinubu said, “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.”
After expressing gratitude to the legislators, Tinubu said that Nigerians are now at the “turning corner” from their economic hardships.
“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 expenditures and manage ourselves better.
“Light is at the end of the tunnel, and Nigerians will soon smile again,” the President affirmed.
In addition, Tinubu commended the National Assembly’s members for their prompt consideration of the Student Loan Amendment Bill and called for increased forgiveness, compassion, and tolerance throughout the month of Ramadan.
He issued a warning that his administration would not put up with attacks on the military and security infrastructure, saying that those responsible for the deaths of soldiers in Delta State would undoubtedly face justice.
Additionally, the President declared that his administration will continue to assist the military in eliminating security concerns across the nation.
“Our armed forces are working hard, and we will not allow attackers to undermine the integrity and value of our armed forces and its leadership.
“We will continue to encourage and fight for our sovereignty, our individual rights to exist, and we will succeed in banishing poverty from our land,’’ the President stated.
Godswill Akpabio, the President of the Senate, expressed gratitude to the President for hosting the parliamentarians and mentioned that regular meetings would improve understanding and lead to more productive governance in his remarks.
“We bring you greetings from the 10th senate. We bring you assurances of continuous collaboration because we believe strongly that for us to have two brothers from the National Assembly as President and Vice-President, and even the Chief of Staff as our member, we have no option but to work with you, and to do everything possible for this administration to succeed,’’ said Akpabio.
