Senate Speaks On Padding Supplementary Budget

The 10th Senate has denounced reports alleging it manipulated the 2023 Supplementary budget that was approved last week, calling these allegations mischievous.

The legislative body was responding to some online news publications’ claims that an unwarranted N70 billion was padded into the supplementary budget, labelled as a “gift” from the executive branch.

In a statement released on Sunday, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, questioned the origin of these reports.

He affirmed that the task of legislation falls solely upon lawmakers, removing the need for any executive “gifts” to perform their duties.

The statement further explained that the passage of the Supplementary Appropriation Act served to fund the Federal Government’s public palliative program, among other national needs.

The statement reads, “Suffice to say that the passage is part of the absolute constitutional duty of the Senate.

“We would therefore, not wish to join issues with the mischief and misrepresentation that a portion of the just passed Amendment Act that appropriated N70 billion was a ‘gift’ to the Legislators.”

Senator Adaramodu stressed that “a visit to the suites, offices and the general structures of the National Assembly complex would reveal a yearning and the need for exigent attention. Many Senators had to bring their chairs, tables and electronics and in many cases, do sundry repairs.

“The much-debated allocation will not be paid to any legislator. This will be managed by the National Assembly Bureaucracy. It’s pertinent to also note that the National Assembly complex does not house only the Legislators. There are thousands of workers and service providers, whose working environments need a facelift and/or the necessary tools.

“Since the Assembly Complex is not owned by legislators who are merely political birds of passage, such an allocation cannot be termed by anyone as a palliative to the legislators.

“The alleged padding of the palliative budget by the national assembly only exists in the minds of those who are all out to discredit the 10th Assembly. There is nothing like padding, as alleged by some misinformed media outfits.

“We wish to urge fellow compatriots to see the national assembly as partners in the progress of Nigeria.”