“Many People Hear About Padding, But Don’t Know What It Means”: Shehu Sani Lifts Lid On Budget Manipulation

A former federal lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani, has provided insights into how members of the National Assembly indulge in budget padding annually.

Recall that ‘budget padding’ is a common phrase loosely used to describe inflation of budgetary figures. However, lawmakers have always argued that they possess the power of appropriation as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

But, Senator Sani, who represented Kaduna Central as a member of the 8th Senate between 2015 and 2019, said not a few Nigerians only hear about ‘budget padding’ but don’t actually know the meaning.

The former lawmaker, who took to his X handle (formerly Twitter) on Thursday to give a graphical explanation about budget padding, was apparently reacting to the unfolding drama in the current Senate, leading to the suspension of Bauchi Central Senator, Abdul Ningi, on Tuesday, following the latter’s claim of 2024 budget padding to the tune of N3trillion, among other allegations against the Senate leadership under Senator Godswill Akpabio.

Shehu Sani wrote: “Many people hear about padding but don’t actually know what it means: Padding budget means tampering with the budget presented by the President or the MDAs by either adding figures to the costs of projects or by inserting projects that were not in the original budget presented.

“For example, a Minister can say he wants to buy 5 Buckets for his ministry at 5k each; magically, he will see 8 Buckets approved for him or 5 Buckets approved at the rate of 10k each or he will see Shovels and diggers added to his request for Buckets.”