The Presidency, in a recent statement, has debunked reports of crisis between President Muhammadu Buhari and members of the National Assembly over the 2022 budget.
A statement released by Garba Shehu by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity on Sunday described the reports as fictional.
He stressed that the president never expressed anger in his dealings with NASS.
The Presidency admitted that there was disagreement between the Executive and legislature over 6,576 new schemes worth N37 billion ”smuggled” into the 2022 budget by the NASS.
He said: ”The Presidency wishes to clear the air regarding the widely-viewed/reported episode on Friday, December 31st at the State House during the signing of the 2022 Budget and Finance Bill by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“This is specifically on the insertion in the 2022 Appropriation Act, of 6,576 new schemes worth about N37 billion by the National Assembly.
”While it is true that the President expressed disagreement with these and many of the other alterations, including the “reduction in the provisions for many strategic capital projects to introduce ‘Empowerment Projects’,” innumerable lies are being spread about the President being “angry” at, had “blasted” or “lashed out” at the Parliament.
”This cannot be farther from the truth.
”As the President of the Senate, Dr Ahmed Lawan said shortly after the budget-signing ceremony, disagreements as the ones listed by the President are normal in the everyday Executive-Parliamentary relationship because, as he explained, “executive and legislative judgements don’t always have to be the same.”
”While we note that there are people who are trying to create a fiasco between the two arms of government on account of the budget, we assure that they will, in the end, be disappointed.”
According to Shehu, the Executive and the 9th National Assembly have since moved away from the issue as they conducted themselves in a way that puts national interest supreme in their decisions.