Tension in budget office as detectives comb files

The atmosphere in the National Planning Ministry, especially around the Budget Department, is now one of tensed up fear of the likely hammer that may soon fall on culprits who may have been responsible for padding the 2016 budget.

This is because President Muhammadu Buhari may have unleashed plain cloths detectives on the ministry to fish out the suspects that have caused the government so much embarrassment when it was revealed that the proposed budget submitted to Senate by the president may have been tinkered with.

Recall that President Buhari while addressing the Nigerian community in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday admitted that the 2016 budget was padded. He also vowed to deal with all those responsible.

Buhari seems set to make good his words as sources within the ministry report sighting plain cloths detectives who have swooped down on the Department of Budget and some ministries, departments and agencies, combing through documents related to the preparation of the budget.

It is believed that based on the directive of the president, heads are likely to roll in some MDAs over the addition of figures to the original budget proposals, by officials believed to be opposed to the zero-based budget system adopted by the President to cut costs and boost capital expenditure to 30 percent.

Read also: Buhari admits budget padding, vows to deal with culprits

The culprits were said to have opted for the “envelope system”, which arbitrarily allocates a fixed but unrealistic sum to each unit, sometimes higher or lower than what is actually required.

The detectives were said to be been scanning the initial documents used for the 2016 Budget and comparing them with the “padded budget documents”, which caused a spat between the Presidency and the National Assembly.

The detectives, a source revealed, had been examining documents for two days running, but trying to be discreet in their work, not molesting anyone, but simply looking through records, and imputing figures into their own computers.

The budget issue has claimed one victim as Buhari fired the Director of Budget and appointed a new person while moving the Budget Department from the Finance Ministry to National Planning.

The detectives also reportedly questioned some of the Budget Department officials who have been moved to other MDAs.

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