It seems there is an orchetrated effort from the top echelon of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC to sweep down the carpet the budget padding allegation against the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and some principal officers of the House as the Presidency came out on Tuesday to say the 2016 budget was not padded.
Senator Ita Enang, Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate) and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters made the position of the Presidency on the budget padding brouhaha known on Tuesday when it informed the leadership of the party at it’s headquarters in Abuja.
Enang, while addressing journalists after the meeting on Tuesday, said, “I am here on the invitation of the APC leadership with my colleague (Kawu) to answer questions on the 2016 Appropriation Act.
“We have given explanation on every issue. There is nothing, to our knowledge, like padding of the budget. The budget, as assented to by the President, is the budget passed by the National Assembly and it is being executed.
“For now, the party is handling it as a domestic issue; a party issue. All of us have been told not to make public comments because the matter is still under consideration. “We will not want to go into the details so that we will not breach the party’s directive or pre-empt the outcome of the party’s probe.’’
He said the legislature had the constitutional duty to amend the Appropriation Bill sent to it by the President. “In all our years of legislative engagement, we have yet to find in the legislative lexicon the word, ‘padding.’ When the budget is presented before the legislature, the legislature is to consider the budget and pass as it deems fit.
“So, what the legislature passes becomes the Appropriation Act upon assent. Therefore, any word which has yet to crystallise in legislative lexicon, you cannot hear us mention it.
Meanwhile, the Transparency Group- a group of lawmakers from the lower chamber who back the former Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation Abdulmumin Jubril insisted that the allegation of padding be independently investigated.
