Politics

Nigeria’s Presidency denies alleged budget manipulations as legislators meet over claims

Published

9 months ago

March 11, 2024

Nigeria’s Presidency has denied allegations of manipulating the 2024 budget to the tune of an additional N3 trillion, a practice known as “budget padding” in the Nigerian political lexicon.

The denial follows allegations made by federal lawmaker, Senator Abdul Ningi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the main opposition party, that the administration was implementing a budget that was different from the one that was authorised on January 1, 2024.

In an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, Ningi, acting on behalf of the Northern Senators’ Forum, said that President Bola Tinubu’s Federal Government was operating on a budget that was much larger than what the NASS had approved.

The legislature claims that instead of the N28.7tn budget that is currently in effect, a N25tn budget was discussed and approved.

The Senate had announced that it would convene to discuss the issue on Tuesday, utilising its internal procedures and oversight framework.

The President’s Special Advisor on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, signed a statement on behalf of the Presidency, characterising Ningi’s assertions as “false” and stating that Tinubu had first submitted a N27.5tn budget to the National Assembly on November 29, 2023.

Contrary to Ningi’s statements, it stated that this budget included N9.92 trillion for recurrent expenses, N8.25 trillion for debt payment, and N8.7 trillion for capital expenditures. The President highlighted how unlikely it was that the Senate would have discussed and approved a $25 trillion budget that was never made available.

“Contrary to the strange view expressed by Senator Ningi, there was no way the Senate could have debated and passed a N25 trillion budget that was not presented to the National Assembly.

“We don’t expect a ranking senator not to pay due attention to details before making wild claims.

“It is also important to let Nigerians know that the budget that President Tinubu signed into law on January 1, 2024, as passed by the National Assembly, was N28.7 trillion,” Onanuga insisted.

Related Topics:Budget Padding Featured Nigeria

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Politics

Mali’s junta names spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga new Prime Minister

Published

2 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A day after dismissing Choguel Maiga for criticising the government, Mali’s governing junta named its spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister on Thursday, according to state broadcaster, ORTM.

A source close to Choguel Maiga told Reuters that the ruling generals were incensed by Maiga’s remarks over the weekend denouncing the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24-month timeframe given for the return to democracy.

After promising to hold elections in February, the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, have put off the poll indefinitely, citing technological difficulties.

Choguel Maiga’s firing coincides with indications of growing discontent and disarray among Mali politicians, even those who first supported the coup and collaborated with the junta.

As the wait for elections continues, Choguel Maiga, a civilian prime minister who was installed by the military junta in 2021, is the most recent to lose support.

He was cited on Saturday as claiming he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion regarding the delay of the elections inside the cabinet.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Choguel Maiga told reporters.

Before then, he had frequently stood up for Mali’s junta against criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa who denounced its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

As government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, the new prime minister, has also made strong public remarks against France, the previous colonial master. One such speech was demanding French President Emmanuel Macron to stop his “neocolonial” and “condescending” behaviour.

Abdoulaye Maiga and Assimi Goita, the leaders of the junta, announced they had kept all of the important cabinet ministers in their portfolios in the new administration in a statement that was broadcast on state television ORTM.

The announcement said that Abdoulaye Maiga will remain minister of territory administration.

Politics

Congo opposition mobilizes protests against constitution review

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In response to President Felix Tshisekedi’s intentions to amend the constitution, opposition lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have called for national protests on Wednesday.

Tshisekedi, who was sworn in for his second and last term in January, said that a panel would be formed in October to recommend possible constitutional amendments.

According to critics, it may be a ploy to lift term restrictions and give him another chance to run.

Tshisekedi said the current constitution, ratified by a referendum in 2005, needed to change because it did not align with the country’s current realities.

Opposition politicians, including former president Joseph Kabila and past presidential candidates Martin Fayulu and Moise Katumbi, issued a unified statement on Wednesday urging rallies to “block” Tshisekedi.

A request for a response from the Congo’s presidency was not answered.

Patrick Muyaya, the minister of communications, stated on Monday that discussions surrounding the constitutional revision should be de-politicized and that no one should doubt the president’s intentions.

“We’re at the beginning of our mandate… The President of the Republic still has four years to go, and we must avoid attributing intentions to him,” Muyaya told reporters.