Jaafar Jaafar, publisher of the Daily Nigerian, accused the National Assembly of budget padding in a social media post today, Thursday.
The publisher and social commentator alleged that the 2024 Appropriation Act allocates N370 billion for running costs, contingency funds, and projects he considers vague or duplicated within the Senate and House of Representatives.
“This is a level of budget padding unseen in Nigerian history,” Jaafar stated on his verified handle.
Jaafar pointed to a significant increase in the National Assembly’s budget, jumping from N170 billion in 2023 to N370 billion this year. He attributed this rise to duplicated projects and the creation of unnecessary ones by the leadership.
He questioned the high number of legislative aides, stating, “A senator recently told me…they are entitled to five aides…while the presiding officers…have at least 3,000 aides. In total, you are talking about nearly 5,500 aides!”
Jaafar raised concerns about allocations for “General Services” (N30.8 billion) and “Service-Wide Vote” (N15 billion), practices typically reserved for the executive branch. He suggested these appropriations lack transparency and could be a form of disguised budget padding.
The expose further alleged that N1.2 billion was allocated for retired clerks and permanent secretaries, despite them already receiving pensions.
Jaafar pointed to allocations for physical projects that seemed unnecessary, considering existing facilities. These included N4 billion for a recreation center, N6 billion for furnishing committee rooms, and N6 billion for car parks.
Jaafar criticized multiple allocations within the budget for the completion of the National Assembly complex, raising concerns about mismanagement and potential duplication.
The expose also questioned the lack of transparency surrounding allocations for institutions under the National Assembly’s purview, including N12 billion and N3 billion for the NASS Library Complex named after President Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, and N9 billion and N4.5 billion for the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies.
He also criticized the allocation of N4 billion for a solar power system despite existing dedicated power lines and generators. He suggested this could be a setup for future inflated battery purchase costs.
Jaafar concluded by revealing that the Senate and House of Representatives Appropriation Committees, responsible for overseeing the budget, each received N200 million for their work.
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