Chuks Okocha in Abuja
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Kogi State and former Senator representating Kogi West, Dino Melaye, has slammed the padding of the 2024 appropriation as a new phase of corruption between the executive and the legislature.
Melaye also called on the Senate to save the nation from massive corruption bedevilling the economy.
In a statement in Abuja, Melaye said, “This will be the highest-ever budgetary allocation to the National Assembly, whose initial allocation in the 2024 budget proposal was pegged at N197.93bn.
“On an x-ray of some of the budget, it appears that they have no national significance but an avenue to syphon public funds.”
Melaye recalled that, “Some years ago, I called the attention of well-meaning Nigerians to the most unfortunate and poignant situation we Nigerians have found ourselves in, where our collective wealth has been consistently looted under the guise of budget padding.
“I also recalled stating that more than 60% of corruption issues in Nigeria are built into and legalised in the budget. It’s impossible to argue the veracity when, out of 115 countries globally, Nigeria is ranked 90th on budget transparency, according to the Open Budget Index (OBI).
“With Nigeria’s annual budgets laced with fake items running into billions, budget fraud would be nothing but the real foundation of all corrupt practices in Nigeria.”
