President Muhammadu Buhari has made massive reductions in the revised 2016 national budget.
President Buhari addressing the Nigerian parliament. The presidency has made a massive cut in the 2016 Budget
The presidency has drastically cut its N8.09 billion provision in the 2016 budget for the purchase of various brands of vehicles for State House operations during the year.
Premium Times reports that a review of the fresh copy of the budget uploaded to the website of the Budget Office of the Federation on Friday, January 15, showed a massive cut by about 83.5% in the total allocation for the vehicles.
According to the revised budget, the government will now spend only N1.34 billion to buy only five BMW saloon cars and jeeps as well as buses for use by the Presidency during the year.
Budget change
There were other adjustments asides reduction in the provision for vehicles. Certain allocations to various departments and units in the presidency contained in the original budget were revised.
It would be recalled that a total of N7.52 billion was provided previously for the purchase of various exotic vehicles, including BMW saloon cars, in addition to another N566 million for the procurement of vehicles, including 16-seater Toyota Hiace coaster buses for the State House.
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, had on Thursday, January 14, accused the presidency of substituting the original copy of the budget presented by President Buhari to the National Assembly (NASS) on December 22, 2015 with a new version.
Saraki's claim comes following days of suspense which trailed claims and counterclaims that the document was missing.
Meanwhile, the controversy surrounding Nigeria's budget was reportedly stirred by intents to defraud the nation.
Investigations reveal that between the 1,810-page budget availed by Buhari and that presented by Ita Enang, the special adviser to the president on Senate matters, there were huge discrepancies.
Most of the differences between the two budgets concerned the state house and the presidency in general.
The Cable reports that another N3.9 billion was included for routine care of the presidential villa, while the money specified for the procurement of BMW salon cars was reduced from N3.6 billion to N340 million.
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