Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi, has called on the Senate to provide clarity regarding the allegations of N3 trillion budget padding in the 2024 budget.

In a statement shared on his social media handle, Obi emphasized the importance of transparency, stating, “Nigerians deserve to know the truth about the allegations.”

He highlighted the discordance between the Senate and the executive branch on the matter, stressing the significance of addressing the fresh allegations emerging concerning the allocation of constituency funds in the budget.

“The fuss over the alleged N3 trillion padded into the 2024 budget raised by a senator still rages,” Obi remarked, pointing out that the suspension of the whistle-blower by the Senate has not resolved the issues at hand.

“Fresh allegations have also cropped up over indiscriminate and unbalanced allocation of constituency projects by the Senate leadership,” he added, citing concerns raised by civic groups like Budgit regarding detailed project allocations.

Obi emphasized the need for the Senate to provide clear clarification to the public, particularly concerning the amounts allocated for constituency projects. He highlighted the magnitude of the alleged padding, stating, “it is more than the national budget of the two most critical components of the human development index, health and education, combined.”

“Now that the executive arm has accepted that the padded amount is only N1.2 trillion, it is still a very significant amount,” Obi stressed, emphasizing the need to prioritize investment in education, especially at the basic level, to address challenges such as the high number of out-of-school children in Nigeria.

He concluded by urging urgent action to curb wastage of resources and ensure that public funds are utilized for the public good, stating, “That is the only way to achieve the New Nigeria we are working towards.”