The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang has said the 2016 budget that President Buhari signed into law was not padded. Enang, while addressing journalists after a meeting with leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress at the party’s headquarters on Tuesday, said, “I am here on the invitation of the APC leadership with my colleague (Kawu) to answer questions on the 2016 Appropriation Act. We have given explanation on every issue. There is nothing, to our knowledge, like padding of the budget. The budget, as assented to by the President, is the budget passed by the National Assembly and it is being executed.
“For now, the party is handling it as a domestic issue; a party issue. All of us have been told not to make public comments because the matter is still under consideration. We will not want to go into the details so that we will not breach the party’s directive or pre-empt the outcome of the party’s probe.’’ When asked if the Presidency had cleared Dogara of padding the budget, Enang said, “I will say we came here as persons who work as liaison officers on the budget. The party wanted us to make clarifications and we have made those clarifications. We will not draw any conclusion. Please, let us not go too far by mentioning any office. Let it be that two of us have appeared before the party.”
