The Presidency has dismissed rumours of a planned 2024 supplementary budget, describing the claims as “false” and “misinformation.”

In a statement released on Saturday by Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, the presidency said it is not planning to run four budgets within a fiscal year as is being alleged.

It noted that the National Assembly only approved the extension of the capital components of the 2023 budget and 2023 supplementary budget to December 2024.

“Our country can’t achieve sustainable development when Federal, States and Local governments focus on only consumptive expenditures which is essentially what recurrent expenditures represent,” the statement read.

“It is the capital expenditures that drive economic growth, strengthen private sector output and create employment opportunities for citizens.”

The Presidency then lambasted BudgIT, a civic organisation, for raising a “false alarm” based on rumours, adding that Peter Obi, a former presidential candidate, also jumped on the false claims to push his new round of misinformation.

It, however, urged BudgIT to be more responsible and accurate in its reporting, stating, “Budgit can not afford to be flippant and be unduly sensational.”

Recall that BudgIT, in a statement on Friday by its Country Director, Gabriel Okeowo, warned against the proposed elongation of the implementation period for the 2023 approved budget and 2023 supplementary budget from the proposed termination date of December 31, 2023, to December 31, 2024.

Recall that the 2023 approved budget of N21.83 trillion, signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2023, was designed to run for 12 calendar months from January to December, as is the practice globally.

In addition, while the 2024 appropriation bill was being drafted, the 2023 supplementary budget of N2.17 trillion was passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu barely two months before the end of the 2023 fiscal year.

Reacting to the development, Obi also accused the federal government of implementing four national budgets simultaneously, describing it as a “betrayal of democracy.”

Obi, in a statement on Saturday, claimed that this action would lead to a competition for limited resources between frivolous items in approved budgets and essential projects, exacerbating the suffering of Nigerians.

Obi said neither the National Assembly nor the executive have any excuse to promote or condone such unconscionable behaviour and called upon all the leaders to desist from actions that will further drive the country into economic chaos. (The Guardian)

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