The Chairman of the Northern Caucus in the House of Representatives, Alhaji Ado Alhassan Doguwa, has denied claims that President Bola Tinubu presented an empty Budget Box during his address to the Joint Chambers of the National Assembly.
Clarifying the matter in a press release, Doguwa said that “the President had earlier submitted a flash drive as a soft copy of the 2024 Budget. This is currently being printed out in hard copies, and as usual, one single hard copy was brought to the floor.”
“Be that as it may, Senators and Hon. members were satisfied and were conveniently guided by the verbal presentation and the way Mr. President digested the budget, and gave a specific analysis of the funds allocated to the various sectors of the economy. I, therefore, want to say that any media or mischievous reports insinuating that Mr President laid empty boxes were NOT TRUE and unfounded,” he said.
Doguwa denounced the false reports as “mischievous insinuations” fabricated by “opposition members who would always criticise the government with or without reasonable cause.” He urged Nigerians to disregard such claims and condemned the perpetrators as “enemies of Nigeria’s Progress.”
Looking ahead, Doguwa announced that the House Committee on Petroleum Upstream, which he chairs, will commence budget defense hearings on the estimates of agencies under its supervision starting next week.