President Muhammadu Buhari vowed late Tuesday in Riyadh 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 that the unauthorised alterations had completely
changed the document from the one he presented to the National Assembly.
“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 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
is 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 neighbors 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
lalasticlala