‘The President allows it’ – Falana hits Tinubu over alleged N1.4bn budget padding

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has accused President Bola Tinubu of enabling fund padding by the National Assembly, citing the alleged insertion of a N1.4 cardinal roadworthy task successful Ogun State into the fund of the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education, NCAOOSCE.

Recall that NCAOOSCE is facing scrutiny implicit the allocation of ₦8.4 cardinal for roadworthy infrastructure projects successful Ogun, Ekiti, and Katsina states, which are extracurricular its acquisition mandate.

The committee denied work for the development, blaming the National Assembly for inserting the “off-mandate” constituency projects into its 2026 budget.

Falana, who spoke astatine the Penpushing Media 8th Anniversary Lecture held on Thursday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, described the improvement arsenic a wide lawsuit of amerciable insertions by national lawmakers.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria called for an contiguous re-examination of the fund to expunge the amerciable projects.

“It was precocious disclosed that a roadworthy successful Ogun State volition beryllium constructed with a sum of 1.4 cardinal Naira. And that is what we telephone fund padding. Members of the National Assembly insert projects into the fund of agencies of government,” Falana said.

“Now that it has been exposed I anticipation determination volition beryllium a re-examination and reappraisal of the budget. They were illegally inserted into the budge...