Buhari appoints Tijani Abdullahi DG Budget; Ben Akabueze Special Adviser, Planning

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday sacked the Director General of the Budget Office, Yahaya Gusau, amidst controversies trailing the 2016 Federal Government budget.

2016 budget proposals are riddled with errors and provisions that many say have grossly undermined the integrity of Buhari”s  anti-graft war..

BudgIT , a Nigerian group that campaigns for transparency in public spending, has articulated some of the errors, which are just ridiculous and underscores an unscrupulous work. The group alleges that in some instances, the same purchase of vehicles, computers and furniture are replicated 24 times, totaling 46.5 billion naira ($234 million), 795 million naira is set aside to update the website of one ministry, while no purpose is assigned to a 10 billion naira provision in the education ministry's spending plan,

Buhari, in the statement that announced the sack of Gusau, also named Tijjani Mohammed Abdullahi as his replacement

Abdullahi, according to the statement, is a fellow of the Certified National Accountants of Nigeria and a banker of repute with experience in managing public finance.nt by a spokesman for the President said the new Director-General, Budget, would work with the Minister of Budget and National Planning to efficiently deliver on the mandates of the Budget Office of the Federation.

The statement further reads, “President Buhari has also approved the appointment of Mr Ben Ifeanyi Akabueze as the Special Adviser on Planning to the President.

“Mr Akabueze who is the immediate past Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget in Lagos State, has worked in senior management positions in Citi Bank, Fidelity Bank, United Bank for Africa, NAL Merchant Bank, Sterling Bank and BIA Consulting Limited, among others”.

The new Special Adviser on Planning is Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers; Fellow, Institute of Credit Administrators and Honorary Fellow, Chartered Institute of Bankers.