Reps member accuses Tinubu of presenting “empty” boxes of 2024 budget to National Assembly

Member representing Gwaram Federal Constituency of Jigawa State, Yusuf Galambi has alleged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday presented empty boxes of 27.5 trillion 2024 budget estimates to the joint session of lawmakers.

The Jigawa lawmaker who is a member of the opposition New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, made the allegation in an interview with BBC Hausa Service on Friday.

He said President Tinubu undermined the long standing tradition by only reading the budget estimate speech before the lawmakers, and did not give the lawmakers hard copy of the documents which they could work with.

CAPITAL POST recalled that President Tinubu presented N27.5 trillion 2024 budget proposal to the joint session of lawmakers at the GBreen Chamber of the National Assembly, Abuja which has been eliciting reactions.

Before President Tinubu’s address, Senate President Godswill Akpabio first gave his speech where he assured of full cooperation between the Legislature and the Executive arm of government. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas also gave his speech after President Tinubu’s budget presentation and on his part, Abbas commended lauded the President for his commitment to uplifting the welfare of Nigerians.

The budget which President titled, Budget of Renewed Rope’, he said the proposal was meant to address economic growth, human capital development, poverty reduction and insecurity.

The lawmaker’s fury in an interview was that the President was expected to lay two boxes before the presiding officers of the upper and lower legislative chambers and in full glare of the legislators, but the boxes which carries Nigeria’s official colour of green white green were empty.

Hon. Galambi said the boxes Tinubu ‘bowed’ and kept for the lawmakers were empty.

“The president read out to us his speech on the proposed budget but we’ve not seen the document to work on.

“Of course, he read the estimates for the various sectors. But as it has always been the tradition, a document is always presented to the lawmakers, but President Tinubu didn’t do that,” he said.

When the BBC reporter insisted that the president was seen laying the “document”, Hon. Galambi said when the lawmakers checked they couldn’t find anything in the boxes laid.

“We’ve checked but there was nothing inside. We checked it. In the history of the National Assembly, this was the first time such a thing happened.

“The constitution has made it clear (that a document must be presented) but this time, it was only a reading on paper. They didn’t provide the document for us to go through and see what is proposed for each sector. Maybe they’ll bring it later,”Hon. Galambi said.

The opposition lawmaker, who was first elected into the House in 2007, said the decision by Tinubu to present empty boxes surprised the lawmakers because “we never expected it even in our wildest dreams.”

Mr Galambi accused the president of deceit.

“If the President was not ready, if the budget proposal was not ready to be presented, he shouldn’t have come and said he was done. We could have given him more time, why the haste? Why would he come and read something and even say he has kept it (document) when it’s empty,” he said.

The lawmaker alleged that the leaders of the National Assembly are covering up Mr Tinubu’s act.

“They (leaders of the National Assembly) don’t want anyone to talk about it. Maybe they were not informed or were possibly aware of what was planned and they decided not to inform us,” he said.

When contacted, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Print Media, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, said the allegation was aimed at misleading the public.

“It’s a nonsensical allegation aimed to mislead. The president is never expected to present the whole haul of heavy documents. What happened at the laying is like the presentation of dummy cheques at award ceremonies.