National Telescope national telescope newspaper
By Odekola Deborah
Former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu, has said that adequate citizen enlightenment on budget monitoring will curb corrupt practices by officials.
She stated this while reacting to the lingering allegation of budget padding between the National Assembly and the Federal Government.
Controversy had trailed the allegation following a disclosure by the senator representing Bauchi Central, Abdul Ningi, who alleged that the National Assembly inflated the 2024 budget to N28.7 trillion.
In an interview, Ningi stated that although the National Assembly approved a budget of N25 trillion for the 2024 fiscal year, the Presidency is implementing one worth N28.7 trillion.
Some Nigerians, including the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, demanded an immediate and thorough investigation into the matter
While the Federal Government denied the allegation, the Senate handed a three-month suspension to Ningi for making the allegation public.
Reacting in a statement made available to NATIONAL TELESCOPE, Ojikutu who is also the first female elected deputy governor of Lagos State said citizens should be well enlightened on budget monitoring.
She said, “If Nigerians are enlightened enough to monitor the budget and its execution and speak out when discrepancies are observed, the outflow of funds into private pockets will be greatly reduced. The politicians hate enlightened citizenry and will do everything to frustrate education and civic knowledge and orientation! shame!”
