Rent for presidential residence among items in the budget
President Buhari has proposed a record 6.1 trillion naira plan

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2016 budget proposals are riddled with errors and provisions that may undermine his anti-graft war, civic groups say.
In some instances, the same purchase of vehicles, computers and furniture are replicated 24 times, totaling 46.5 billion naira ($234 million), 795 million naira is set aside to update the website of one ministry, while no purpose is assigned to a 10 billion naira provision in the education ministry’s spending plan, according to Oluseun Onigbinde, partner and co-founder of BudgIT, a Nigerian group that campaigns for transparency in public spending.
“The key line items you find in the budget are a disservice to the idea that this government has come to represent change,” Onigbinde, whose group first publicly raised the discrepancies, said in a Feb. 9 phone interview. “It would have been better that they took a very good look at every line item and ensured that it was justified.”
Buhari has proposed a record 6.1 trillion naira budget this year to help revive an economy reeling from the impact of the low price of oil, the source of two-thirds of government revenue. Brent crude, which compares with Nigerian oil grades, fell 0.3 percent to $33.21 as of 8:33 a.m. in London, down 42 percent this year. Additional spending will be funded through tax revenue and the deficit of 3 trillion naira through borrowing, according to the Finance Ministry.
Former ministers and high-ranking civilian and military officials that served under the previous government, are under corruption investigation. Sambo Dasuki, the former national security adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, is facing charges related to alleged misappropriation $2.1 billion meant for weapons procurement. About $150 billion stolen by corrupt officials in the last decade is in foreign banks, Buhari said in July.
‘Padded Budget’
The government was the first to detect initial errors in the budget and Buhari wrote to lawmakers to correct them and welcomes further criticisms, Garba Shehu, a spokesman for Buhari, said by phone on Feb. 11 .
“If they know the one who padded the budget, they should announce that to the government,” Shehu said. “Anyone disagreeing with the budget is welcome to say their views, it is the only way we can make the country better.”
Buhari, 73, defeated Goodluck Jonathan in March in Nigeria’s first democratic transfer of power. He came to office promising to curb widespread corruption and end an Islamist militant insurgency ravaging the country’s northeast.
“The budget has become an instrument of the corruption process in this country over the last few years,” Jibrin Ibrahim of Abuja-based Centre for Democracy and Development, said in a Feb. 12 phone interview. “If the Buhari administration doesn’t succeed in stopping that process, then the anti-corruption war will be completely futile.”
Africa’s largest oil producer came 136th out of 175 countries in Transparency International’s 2015 world index of countries perceived as least corrupt.
Public Outrage
Onigbinde’s Lagos-based BudgIT was the first to draw public attention to spending proposals he described as “suspicious and wasteful” amounting to 111.32 billion naira, which includes 53.7 million naira repeated 52 times, 37.8 million naira appearing over 369 times, and a 3.9 billion naira allocation for the presidential clinic that exceeds funds designated for all 17 of the country’s teaching hospitals combined. These revelations have sparked public outrage and criticism of the government.
“There was a lot of expectation that there’s a clear departure from the past where previous budgets have been padded,” Onigbinde said. “All we have seen with this budget is that they have done even worse than the past.”
The budget controversy began last month when lawmakers alleged that the original document presented by Buhari on Dec. 22 had been substituted. The president said in a Jan. 19 letter to lawmakers that the original document contained errors.
It was while poring through the latest submission that BudgIT found unusual entries, including 31 million naira set aside as “rent” for the presidential residence, owned by the government, according to Onigbinde.
‘Zero Budgeting’
The Budget and Planning Ministry said in an e-mailed response to questions on Feb. 11 that errors were not “unexpected” as bureaucrats grappled with a new system called “zero budgeting” adopted by the government. It didn’t provide details of what the new system entails.
“However, the ministry has zero tolerance for malfeasance and whenever any wrongdoing is alleged, it will be thoroughly investigated and sanctions will be applied,” Charles Dafe, the ministry’s director of information, said in the statement.
Despite the explanations, criticism of the government is mounting with civic groups questioning Buhari’s running of Africa’s biggest economy.
“The executive should recall the budget,” said Ibrahim. “They have to look back at what was submitted, identify the alterations, correct them, make sure they deal with those who did the alterations, and resubmit.”
Other analysts see in the blunders signs that the government isn’t in full control.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Clement Nwankwo, executive director of Abuja-based Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre. “It doesn’t seem like the government managed to put together a first budget or has any control of its expenditure framework.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-15/buhari-s-budget-riddled-with-errors-puts-graft-war-in-doubt

From Bloomberg

In some instances, the same purchase of vehicles, computers and furniture are replicated 24 times, totaling 46.5 billion naira ($234 million), 795 million naira is set aside to update the website of one ministry, while no purpose is assigned to a 10 billion naira provision in the education ministry’s spending plan

It was while poring through the latest submission that BudgIT found unusual entries, including 31 million naira set aside as “rent” for the presidential residence, owned by the government, according to Onigbinde.

Who is Buhari paying rent to?

Heaven knows that if all the fraudulent cost items are removed from this budget it can not be more than 4 and a 1/2 trillion. But these people decided to hardwire all sorts of yams into the budget for the saintly goats to devour while proposing to incur huge debts for us and our children.

President Buhari should return to the drawing board and comeup with a new budget of realistic expense items because this particular one (in the words of my friend and ardent Buharist) "does not reflect his character".

It's alright.

and this was the same budget Femi Gbajabiamila claim to be the best budget so far.

erunz:
and this was the same budget Femi Gbajabiamila claim to be the best budget so far.

Femi and his gang would have passed that budget without blinking an eye. The same way Buhari signed and presented the budget would have been the same way femi and gang would have passed it without scrutiny.

Can't we ever do things right in Nigeria

What if our senators were drunk & they mistakenly passed the appropriation bill, would the ministers have denied the #BudgetOfCorruption ?

and they were screaming budget of change up and down, see the fraud in the budget. buhari was planning to pay back his campaign debt though the budget. thank God Nass did their job

some people have to take responsibility for this despicable shame

It is clear that some officials in the MDAs are hell bent on perpetuating corruption in Nigeria

Heads have to roll

Better not let zombies here u else dey term bloomberg as anoda IPOD/IPOB WAILERS MACHINATION. Some of dem are finding d truth a hard pill to swallow as reality don dey set in while d downright zombified ones still won't find anything wrong with the budget or still blame some elements of GEJ for dis embarrassment.

I bliv we the populace also have ourself to blame.how can we vote a man that could not produce his certificate,how can we vote a man that has a very bad past.I was watching the usa presidential debate jesus I wept for my country.u see sound men talk,debate,counter debate them self.but we nigerians we still went ahead to vote a man that was scared to even come to a presidential debate,so we can judge his intellectual capabilities. I bliv we are wise now.

President with old brain

Buhari is antichrist

APC apologists will say the article was sponsored by Igbos nd wailers

Seriously, I have kept an open mind about President Buhari's Administration..
I keep hoping for him to succeed, but so far he has been breaking my heart

I still wish him well, bcuz if he does well, it will benefit us all...

The expected change is really here. Let's keep watching until there's no one left to watch.

The graft war has always been in doubt.

No one has been convicted, Amaechi is still going free.

TippyTop:
From Bloomberg







Who is Buhari paying rent to?

If you ask meee, na who I go ask?? The matter wey you see so, e heavy foor my mouth ooo. Only his zombies see no wrong in it.


Click if buhari and apc has scammed their zombies/ twitter Orubebe's and click share if you think otherwise

Sai baba

the ineffectual Baba...

U

Thats Zoo Republic For You!!

Buhari has brought shame to Nigeria.

Lalasticlala the thread no gree move

Even the wailers are overwhelmed with the rate anti-Buhari threads are making FP

From the time Buhari declared his ministers you should have figured out that the anti-corruption war was a scam.

#BudgetOfyams#

Buhari should continue to deceive himself and his party apc !

The masses can now use their tongue to count their teeth !!

Why are Nigerians this forgetful, lily-brained and easily deceivable?

For real, did you guys expect an errorless, dentless and above-the-board administration from president Buhari?

Some Nigerians like lies. We like drama, and that is what brought in the present government, that is what it will survive by and be sustained by.
For the overzealously overexcited that change has come, you are in for a four-year period of razzmatazz.
For some of us, put on your endurance eye-glasses, develop some thick skin, and be prepared for a rough ride with periodic punctuations of overtly annoying intervals.

No man can give what he doesn't have, not me, not you, not President Buhari.

Right from day one when the man chosed to surround himself with men of questionable character, men with allegations of corruption, I knew he won't perform miracles.

Show me your friend, and I will tell you who you are!

Imagine this:
“There was a lot of expectation that there’s a clear departure from the past where previous budgets have been padded,” Onigbinde said. “All we have seen with this budget is that they have done even worse than the past.”

In addition to the above, the Buhari administration has introduced a new dimension of Corruption in the nation, where budget can be surreptitiously stolen and replaced, and till date, no official explanation to that effect.

Welcome, people.

In a sane country, someone should have been fired by now or resigns by himself

ishiamu:


If you ask meee, na who I go ask?? The matter wey you see so, e heavy foor my mouth ooo. Only his zombies see no wrong in it.


Click if buhari and apc has scammed their zombies/ twitter Orubebe's and click share if you think otherwise

AT ur age, you are begging for likes

smh

TippyTop:
From Bloomberg







Who is Buhari paying rent to?

To lord luggard.. I heard he still resides in Aso rock.. His room is beside Madame Aisha's Toilet..