‘missing’ 2016 Budget Resurfaces At Nass

BEVERLY HILLS, January 12, (THEWILL) – Hours after news reports quoting Senate Leader, Ali Ndume as telling senators that the 2016 budget proposal was 'missing' at the National Assembly and the controversies that followed, copies of the document have resurfaced at the Assembly.

THEWILL correspondents at the Assembly saw hundreds of copies of the document at the lobby-entrance of the National Assembly possibly awaiting distribution to federal legislators.

The Senate had scheduled to commence deliberation on the proposed budget Tuesday.

But the Senate leader was reported to have shocked lawmakers at a closed-door session, when he said the budget documents had been stolen.

According to the APC senator, the chairman, Senate Committee of Appropriation, Danjuma Goje, was subsequently mandated to lead a search for the documents and liaise with the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang, and the National Planning Ministry on the issue.

However, in a twist, Ndume later denied the report, saying: “The budget cannot be missing or stolen. It is not money and cannot be missing. We don’t have access to the budget now.”

The Presidency had earlier stated that it had not withdrawn the document which President Muhammadu Buhari presented to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 22, 2015.