Former Senator for Kaduna Central, Senator Shehu Sani has explained how members of the National Assembly pad the national budget for personal gain.
Sani gave the insight in an X post on Thursday.
His explanation came amid an ongoing controversy over the alleged padding of the 2024 budget.
Senator for Bauchi Central, Senator Abdul Ningi, who has now been suspended, recently claimed that the sum of N3.7 trillion in the budget was not tied to any project.
Amid the controversy, Sani explained that lawmakers often inflate or alter budgets presented by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to gain an advantage for themselves.
“Many people hear about paddling but don’t actually know what it means: Paddling budget means tampering with the budget presented by the President or the MDAs by either adding figures to the costs of projects or by inserting projects that were not in the original budget presented.
“For example, a Minister can say he wants to buy 5 buckets for his ministry at 5k each; magically, he will see 8 buckets approved for him or 5 buckets approved at the rate of 10k each or he will see shovels and diggers added to his request for buckets,” Sani said.
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