Senate uncovers N1 trillion fraud in 2012 budget

Insert: Senator Ahmed Maccido

The Senate committee on Appropriation yesterday, alleged that some government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, (MDAs) secretly smuggled in over N1trillion projects into the 2012 budget.

Chairman of the Senate committee on Appropriation, Ahmed Maccido, told journalists in Abuja yesterday that the budgets presented by the leadership of the various MDAs that appeared before the committee were significantly higher from the original budget the President presented to the House of Assembly on December 13th, 2011.

Maccido stated, “The problem is that we are seeing projects that are not in the original version of the budget presented to us by President Goodluck Jonathan and substantial number of these projects is being smuggled into the budget by the MDAs and their ministers.

“The items so smuggled into the budget are over N1tn. So, we are right now comparing the budget as originally presented by the President and the version presented by the MDAs.

Senator Maccido alleged that over 40 percent of the projects are not captured in the budget presented to the National Assembly by President Goodluck Jonathan last year.

“Unless these projects are there in the original budget, we are going to scrap them. It is no longer going to be business as usual. These people are just smuggling in projects that are not in the budget and we going to remove them.”

President Jonathan on December 13th, 2011, presented a budget of N4.7 trillion for consideration and subsequent passage.

Maccido alleged that the smuggled items may have pushed the 2012 fiscal estimate to about N5.7 trillion.

The Senate President, David Mark has given the various Senate committees a deadline of tomorrow to submit their decisions on the budget to the Maccido led Committee on Appropriation.

7 COMMENTS

  1. A big shame to the govt officials in this country. Even in the nation’s budget? If such huge sum of money is smuggled into the nation’s budget, it tell us the height of corruption in the country. And the most confused president said he is fighting corruption? Even the entire budget is pervaded wit fraud. Big shame to the govt of Nigeria. And the source of this fraud is not far fetched. It’s within them and they know the ones who have smuggled it.

  2. Mr Senator Maccido, What about NNPC, PPRA, OIL COMPANIES, CUSTOMS, that just spends Nigerian money at source under cover of fuel subsidy, exploration activities, chasing illegal immigrants/smuggulars a.k.a BOKO HARAM without even boarding to ask for Presidential approval or National assembly apporpraitions/ Senator David Mark”s the YES have it? Why not just get the Senate to CUT and PASTE into Nigerian law the Chinese death penalty law for all fraudulent politicians, businessmen, civil servants,etc in Nigeria. Because of the western world human rights noise making they may not be hanged immediately but remain awaiting hanging like Major Mustafa till retirement age of 60-70yrs depending on whether they are Professors.or just ordinary foot soldiers.