A civil society organisation, (CSO), Anti-Corruption Network, (ACN), has raised the alarm over the proposed 2022 budget, alleging that it contains fake items running into billions of Naira, aimed at defrauding Nigerians.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday, the ACN Executive Secretary, Senator Dino Melaye, described the nations budgeting system as a monumental national disgrace.
The organisation also condemned the N228 billion budgetary provision proposed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service Commission (FIRS), describing it as a monumental fraud.
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had in October presented a budget estimate of N16.39 trillion for the year 2022 to a joint session of the National Assembly.
The ACN noted that more than 60 percent of corruption practices in Nigeria are built and legalised in annual budgets.
Referring to the 2022 budget, Melaye wondered why the FIRS budget, which stands at N228bn, would surpass the budget of the National Assembly pegged at N134bn and N120bn proposed for the Judiciary.
He expressed concern that the FIRS budget also surpassed the current 2021 budgets of Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara States.
Melaye described as most unfortunate, a situation where the nations collective wealth is being consistently looted under the guise of budget-padding, which he said now calls for serious scrutiny.
The group alleged that the National Assembly was not left out in the corrupt activities as they have compromised and betrayed the trust of the electorate by failing to checkmate the excesses of the executive arm of government.
He called on the Executive arm of government to adopt a yearly publication of the Appropriation Bills before sending it to the National Assembly, in order for the public to scrutinise it.
