N3.7t: No padding in 2024 budget signed by Tinubu — Suswam

Former Governor of Benue State, Senator Gabriel Suswam, has stated that there was no padding in the 2024 Budget signed by President Bola Tinubu.

The former representative of Benue North East Senatorial District said this in an interview on Arise Television on Wednesday.

“If the budget signed by the President was not more than initial submission, there was no padding,” he opined.

The former governor added: “The issue is that the leadership of the National Assembly normally takes the lion’s share of constituency projects, and this agitates most members and senators.”

Recall that the 2024 Budget has been a subject of controversy, with Senator Abdul Ningi alleging that the Senate padded the 2024 budget to the tune of N3.7 trillion.

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Ningi, in an interview with BBC Hausa, claimed that the Federal Government is operating two versions of the 2024 budget and that the N28.7 trillion Budget passed and signed into law by President Tinubu was skewed against the North.

At the resumed plenary on Tuesday, the Red Chamber, under the leadership of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, suspended Senator Ningi.