#BudgetOfCorruption: NASS uncovers hidden N.4bn

In from Ripples Nigeria . . . .

More items hidden in the 2016 budget which many Nigerians have tagged Budget of Corruption, are still being unearthed, as the Senate Committee on Gas Resources on Tuesday discovered a N200 million item in the document penciled for mobilization to facilitate the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

The committee also uncovered another request of N200 million for the review of the Nigeria Gas Master plan.

Both requests were contained in the 2016 budget of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources passed to the National Assembly for consideration and approval.

Justifying the need for the request, Permanent Secretary for the ministry, Dr. Jamila Shuaru, during the budget defence session in the Senate claimed it needed N200 million for mobilisation of the National Assembly.

Read also: I have no hands in that budget, health minister tells Senate

But the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Bassey Albert Akpan, noted that the allocation was not necessary especially since the Bill is already with the National Assembly.

Raising some posers, Bassey said: “This bill is already with the National Assembly. So what do we need the money for? “I don’t think you need the money. This could be one of the reasons why we have so many deficits in this year’s budget. Unless you can justify this expenditure, we need to do away with this.”

Expectedly, other members of the committee shared the same sentiments with Bassey

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