Ex-lawmaker Shehu Sani has explained what budget padding is all about, indicating that it is a fraud.
Although Sani didn’t explain the reason for educating the public on the subject, it appears to be in reaction to the comment by Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, who said that the National Assembly did not break any law with new insertions in the 2024 budget.
But Sani, in a post on his X account, seems to have a different view from the minister who was reacting to allegation by now suspended Senator Abdu Ningi who raised an alarm of over N3 trillion padding of the 2024 budget.
He said: “Many people hear about padding but don’t actually know what it means:Padding budget means tampering with the budget presented by the President or the MDA’s by either adding figures to the costs of projects or by inserting projects that were not in the original budget presented.For example, a Minister can say he wants to buy 5 Buckets for his ministry at 5k each; magically, he will see 8 Buckets approved for him or 5 Buckets approved at the rate of 10k each or he will see Shovels and diggers added to his request for Buckets”
