President Muhammadu Buhari vowed late Tuesday that all those involved in the “padding” of the 2016 National Budget will face the most severe punishment.

Addressing the Nigerian Community in Saudi Arabia, President Buhari condemned the distortion of the budget proposals by entrenched interests.
The president said the “unauthorised alterations” had completely changed the document from the one he presented to the National Assembly, a statement by presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said.“The culprits will not go unpunished. I have been a military governor, petroleum minister, military Head of State and headed the Petroleum Trust Fund.

“Never had I heard the words ‘budget padding’. Our Minister of Budget and National Planning did a great job with his team. The Minister became almost half his size during the time, working night and day to get the budget ready, only for some people to pad it.
“What he gave us was not what was finally being debated. It is very embarrassing and disappointing. We will not allow those who did it to go unpunished,” President Buhari vowed.

The 2016 budget has been steeped in controversy after several reports revealed inflated allocation of funds and multibillion naira phoney subheads smuggled into the budget.

The president also assured members of the Nigerian community that his administration was working diligently to fulfil its campaign promises, particularly on security, unemployment, and corruption. Reaffirming his government’s zero tolerance for corruption, President Buhari said that the war against corruption was a monumental task that he was determined to tackle successfully.
“We have zero tolerance for corruption and other unethical practices. We will deal decisively with anybody found wanting,” he promised members of the Nigerian community.

President Buhari also used the opportunity of the gathering to brief Nigerians in Saudi Arabia on his administration’s efforts to end the Boko Haram insurgency and terrorism in Nigeria. “Our armed forces have done a great job of dealing decisively with Boko Haram. We are collaborating with our neighbours in the operations of the Multinational Joint Task Force to handle security threats in the sub-region and we have significantly destroyed the capacity of the insurgents,” the President said.

He also spoke on efforts being made to diversify the Nigerian economy, stressing that more opportunities are now open for local and foreign investors in the country.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/198949-2016-budget-scandal-buhari-breaks-silence-vows-severe-punishment-for-those-responsible.html

Nowhere to Hide for the Corrupt

I dont understand this govt at all; Buhari will say one thing and Lai Mohammed will say another.
Lai made it clear in that the budget wasnt padded and denied all allegations, now Buhari is saying the opposite; which one should we believe?

But what about the rent payment in Aso rock, is it a civil servant or minister that will benefit from this? Also billions being requested for the purchase of books for VP and Villa clinic which would require billions to complete.

How can our president claim he has never heard of budget padding and yet he prides himself as a fighter of corruption. You cannot fight corruption without knowing what it is all about, this includes issues like "Budget padding"

Isn't withdrawing the budget without following due process corruption? And who was punished for this wrong doing? Nobody.

Government of lies and confusion.

Ok.

Emekamex:
I dont understand this govt at all; Buhari will say one thing and Lai Mohammed will say another.
Lai made it clear in that the budget wasnt padded and denied all allegations, now Buhari is saying the opposite; which one should we believe?

believe the Liar Mohammed at your own peril.

Govt of Lies, Propaganda and frustrations. Buhari will not address Nigerians in his country but junkets to other countries to make statements to clear the awful air and take pride. Lair Mohammed says another thing here and Buhari counters abroad. Lol

A down to earth,honest president.
Yet Lai muhammed was misyarning the other day that there is nothing like padding of the budget.
There should also be sanctions for pple that try to make the govt look dishonest,less the president speaks in one breath and one damn minister speaks in a contradictory tone.
For those that did the padding,i just hope for their sake that they have a biz to fall back on because they are bound for the unemployment market soon.

deal with them all

Emekamex:
I dont understand this govt at all; Buhari will say one thing and Lai Mohammed will say another.
Lai made it clear in that the budget wasnt padded and denied all allegations, now Buhari is saying the opposite; which one should we believe?

What's so difficult to understand?

Buhari alleged that the budget he presented to the NAS wasn't padded

Lai Mohammed corroborated Buhari's assertion

Buhari believes the padding must have been done after he presented the budget <= Quite possible since there was a fiasco about the budget going missing after he presented it.