Buhari Govt Using 2022 Budget To Defraud Nigerians – Melaye

Former Kogi West Senator, Dino Melalye has alleged that the Federal Government is using the 2022 budget to defraud Nigerians.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had presented a budget proposal of ₦16.39 trillion for the year 2022 to the Joint Session of the National Assembly in October.

Speaking during a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Melaye claimed that the budget was full of fake items running into billions of naira.

Melaye alleged the 2022 budget was full of corruption, wondering why the FIRS budget would be more than the National Assembly and the judiciary.

He said the FIRS budget stood at ₦228 billion while the National Assembly budget was pegged at ₦134 billion and ₦120 billion was proposed for the judiciary.

He said, “In the FIRS 2022 budget proposal, the tax body earmarked ₦2.5bn for the purchase of land, ₦3bn for office furniture, ₦1.5bn for photocopying machines, ₦2.04bn for computers and ₦500m for the construction of sports facilities. The agency set aside ₦1bn for generator fuel and ₦250m for maintenance while a separate ₦550m was set aside for purchasing more generators.

“How on earth can the FIRS budget sum of ₦2.8bn for “uniforms and clothing” for the year 2022 and in defence, the FIRS Chairman through his Special Assistant on Media and Communication, Johannes Wojuola, had the guts to say that the word “uniform” is the corporate outfit (dressing allowance) to be enjoyed by all the staff…”

“Is it the Presidency? The Presidency proposed budget for 2022 stands at ₦150.5bn and the sum of 24.8bn was budgeted for the President. It was budgeted that the President will spend the sum of ₦775.6m for his local travel and transport while the sum of ₦1.5bn will be spent on international travel and transport (No wonder Mr. President is travelling up and down).

“The 2022 budget of the Vice President stands at ₦1.1bn. The Vice President is to spend the sum of 301.9m for his local travel and transport while the sum of ₦476.2m will be spent on international travel and transport. ₦6.3m will be spent on office stationeries/computer consumables, the sum of ₦4.6m will be spent on printing non-security documents.

“The Vice President foodstuff/catering material supplies stand at ₦156.6m. Miscellaneous is ₦99.7m, Refreshment & Meals is earmarked 20.2m while Honorarium & sitting allowance is ₦30.2m. The Vice President is to spend ₦18.8m on publicity and advertisement, ₦23.2m on welfare packages, and ₦5.4m on sporting activities.”