President Bola Tinubu has clarified the ongoing controversy surrounding the 2024 budget padding.
Tinubu made the clarification when he hosted the Senate members for an Iftar meal at the official residence on Thursday evening in Abuja.
He stated that those who claim an “embellishment” in it lack understanding of the budget details.
Recall that Senator Abdul Ningi had claimed that over N3.7 billion in the budget could not be accounted for in any project.
Although the Senate later suspended Ningi, the President believed the allegations indicated his lack of understanding of the “arithmetic” behind it.
He 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.”
