Presidency counters Obi on claims of running four budgets concurrently
By Jeffrey Agbo
The Presidency said on Saturday that it is not planning to run four budgets concurrently as alleged by the opposition.
Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, tweeted earlier that the alleged four budgets in a year meant lack of fiscal responsibility and transparency.
However, Temitope Ajayi, the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, said in a statement on X that the National Assembly only approved that capital components of 2023 budget and 2023 supplementary budget should be extended to December 2024.
Ajayi said: “Yesterday, @BudgITng raised a false alarm on the basis of rumours that FG is planning a 2024 supplementary budget. It is important to state that the FG is not planning to run 4 budgets within a fiscal year as being alleged.
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“The National Assembly only approved that implementation of the capital components of 2023 budget and 2023 supplementary should be extended to December 2024 to achieve its objectives.
“Our country can’t achieve sustainable development when Federal, States and Local governments focus on only consumptive expenditures which is essentially what recurrent expenditures represent.
“It is the capital expenditures that drive economic growth, strengthen private sector output and create employment opportunities for citizens.
“As a reputable civic organisation, Budgit can not afford to be flippant and be unduly sensational. Expectedly, @PeterObi has jumped on the false claims to push his new round of misinformation.”