President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration says the claim by Senator Abdul Ningi of Bauchi Central that the 2024 national budget was padded is false and baseless.

Recall that Senator Ningi had queried the whereabouts of N3 trillion in the 2024 N28.7 trillion budget.

However, in a statement on Sunday, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy faulted Ningi’s claim.

The presidency stated the Nigerian government allowed that the National Assembly to jacked up the national budget by N1.2 trillion in the spirit of Democracy.

It added that it was uncharitable to claim that the 2024 budget was anti-North.

“Following the false claims made by Senator Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi Central, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government is operating two versions of the 2024 budget, we consider it appropriate to inform Nigerians that there is no truth whatsoever in the allegation.

“Acting under the banner of Northern Senators’ Forum, Senator Ningi, falsely claimed in an interview he granted BBC Hausa Service, that the National Assembly debated and passed N25 Trillion as 2024 budget and not the N28.7 Trillion that is being implemented by the Federal Government.

“To begin with, President Tinubu on November 29, 2023 presented a budget of N27.5 Trillion to the joint session of the National Assembly made up of N9.92 Trillion recurrent expenditure, Debt Service N8.25 Trillion and Capital Expenditure N8.7 Trillion.

“The National Assembly, in its wisdom, increased the amount proposed by the Executive by N1.2 Trillion.

“In the spirit of democracy which allows give and take, President Tinubu didn’t withhold his assent to the Appropriation Bill as passed by the National Assembly. We want to stress that if the budget figure was increased and made to be different from what the Executive proposed, it was the National Assembly that jacked it up in exercise of its power of appropriation.

“On the uncharitable claim that the 2024 budget was anti-North, we found such position as canvassed by Senator Ningi as too far-fetched and unbecoming of a leader of his status”, the statement reads.

Recall that in January 1, Tinubu signed the 2024 national budget.

2024 budget: Your claim baseless – Presidency replies Senator Ningi