The Nigerian Presidency has forcefully pushed back against claims made by opposition Senator Abdul Ningi alleging irregularities in the federal government’s 2024 budget implementation.
In a fact-check statement released on March 10th, the State House Digital team categorically labelled Ningi’s assertions as “false” after the senator publicly stated in a BBC Hausa interview that the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration was operating two different versions of the 2024 budget concurrently.
Ningi had alleged in a BBC Hausa Service interview that while the National Assembly debated and passed a N25 trillion naira budget, the executive branch was surreptitiously implementing a much larger N28.7 trillion budget behind the scenes.
However, the Presidency’s fact-check directly dismantles this claim. It provides a detailed timeline showing that President Tinubu originally proposed a N27.5 trillion budget to federal lawmakers in late November 2023, which included N9.92 trillion for recurrent expenditure, N8.25 trillion for debt servicing, and N8.7 trillion for capital projects.
“Contrary to Senator Ningi’s view, there was no N25 Trillion budget presented to the National Assembly. The Senate could not have debated and passed a budget that was not officially presented,” the statement asserts.
It explains that after legislative review, the National Assembly exercised its constitutional power by increasing the total budget figure to N28.7 trillion before passing it in late December. President Tinubu subsequently signed this revised N28.7 trillion Appropriation Bill into law on January 1, 2024.
“The officially implemented 2024 budget is the N28.7 trillion version passed by the National Assembly and signed by President Tinubu,” the fact-check concludes, dismissing any suggestions of separate, undisclosed budget figures.
The Presidency’s direct rebuttal seems to be an effort to douse opposition allegations of financial impropriety and lack of transparency barely a year into Tinubu’s tenure.
The administration appears keen to firmly counter any narrative of two competing budgets operating in parallel.
