The 2024 budget padding allegation made by the now suspended senator, Abdul Ningi, threw the entire National Assembly and the country into commotion for days.
The allegation was trailed by numerous actions which finally resulted in the suspension of senator Ningi. His suspension had angered Nigerians, who had called for a probe into the 2024 Budget, but were ignored.
This has sparked more suspicion among Nigerians. In the midst of all this chaos, Tinubu, who is at the center of the drama had been silent over it, and his silence over such a critical issue has stirred concern.
Now, the president has finally spoken about the issue.
Tinubu spoke on Thursday when he hosted the leadership of the Senate to a dinner to break the Ramadan fast at the State House, Abuja.
There, he told the leadership of the 10th Senate that he would always encourage the cooperation between the executive and judiciary for the advancement of the nation.
He insisted that the integrity of the National Assembly remains intact irrespective of the budget padding allegation made by suspended senator, Abdul Ningi.
Tinubu also spoke via a statement released in the early hours of Friday by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale.
In that statement, the nation’s leader noted that he knew the arithmetic of the budget. According to him, those making allegations of budget padding do not understand the arithmetic of the budget.
He said: “I know the arithmetic of the budget and the numbers that I brought to the National Assembly, and I know what numbers came back.
“I appreciate all of you for the expeditious handling of the budget. Thank you very much.
“Those who are talking about malicious embellishment in the budget; they did not understand the arithmetic and did not refer to the baseline of what I brought. But your integrity is intact”.
Furthermore, Tinubu thanked the lawmakers, saying that Nigerians are at the “turning corner” of the economic challenges.
“The natural challenge we are facing will be over. On the current economic difficulty, we are about turning the corner. “Our revenue has improved. All we have to do is to control expenditures and manage ourselves better.
“Light is at the end of the tunnel, and Nigerians will soon smile again,” the President affirmed.
Also, Tinubu thanked members of the National Assembly for the speedy attention given to the Student Loan Amendment Bill. He called for more tolerance, forgiveness, and charity during Ramadan.
According to Tinubu, the perpetrators of the killing of soldiers in Delta State will face certain justice.
Most importantly, Tinubu warned that his administration would not tolerate attacks on the military and security infrastructure. The President also affirmed that the military would continue to enjoy the support of his administration in neutralising security threats across Nigeria.
“Our armed forces are working hard, and we will not allow attackers to undermine the integrity and value of our armed forces and its leadership.
“We will continue to encourage and fight for our sovereignty, our individual rights to exist, and we will succeed in banishing poverty from our land,’’ the President added.
