There Were Amendment To 2016 Budget But Not Withdrawn…Presidency

The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, has denied that the Presidency has withdrawn the 2016 Budget from the National Assembly.

Adesina, who spoke on the telephone on Tuesday evening when called in reaction to the disappearance of the 2016 Budget from the National Assembly, said the Presidency did not withdraw it.There were insinuations on Tuesday afternoon that the Presidency may have withdrawn the budget, hence the declaration by senators that it was missing.The senators, at a closed-door session on Tuesday, could not locate the document presented to a joint session of the National Assembly in December by President Buhari.

Ordinarily, they were expected to commence the second look at the document upon resumption of plenary.While some said the document must have been stolen, others put it mildly that it was missing.Though he directed our correspondent to the President’s Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, for further clarification, Adesina was insistent on the fact that there was no move to withdraw the budget by the Presidency.He, however, said amendments were made to the 2016 Budget by the Presidency.Shortly before the National Assembly went on Christmas and New Year breaks, some discrepancies were pointed out in the Budget 2016.

However, both officials of the Presidency and the National Assembly agreed that the discrepancies could be corrected without necessarily withdrawing the budget.Adesina said: “Yes, some amendments were made to the Budget, but it was never withdrawn.“The SSA to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Enang, will be in a better position to brief you on the development.“But he had said so last week that we did not withdraw the Budget.“That is the position.“We did not withdraw the Budget.”