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According to Premium Times, the PDP believed that the original budget had been doctored by the presidency during the period that it went “missing”.
The Senate accused a senior special assistant to Buhari, Ita Enang, of presenting to lawmakers an altered version of the 2016 budget, the report said.
Senate president Bukola Saraki said: “What he [Enang] distributed is different from what was presented by Mr President and we have resolved not to address any version until we receive the version presented by Mr President.”
Uche Secondus, the PDP acting national chairperson, signed a statement to charge the National Assembly to impeach the president for submitting two versions of the 2016 budget.
“[The National Assembly should investigate the] shameful act, including the distortion and banding of figures to accommodate their personal interest and ensure that appropriate sanctions is meted to whoever has a hand in the dubious action that has brought embarrassment to the legislative body,” the PDP was quoted as saying in a statement.
The PDP also called for the resignations of Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun, Budget and National Planning Minister Udo Udoma and Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele for their roles in the management of the nation’s economy.
Also Read: Presidency uploads 2016 budget online
In response to the PDP’s accusations and demands, the All Progressives Congress (APC), however, dismissed the opposition’s call, as “comical”.
“It is confusing and worrisome that the PDP calls for an investigation into the budget issue and at the same time calls for the removal and resignation of the aforementioned,” the APC said in a statement.
The APC also accused the PDP of using the budget crisis as a distraction from the corruption cases that the government was currently investigating.
On Tuesday, it was discovered that the hard and soft copies of the 2016 budget proposal which Buhari presented to the National Assembly in December 2015 were declared as missing.
Punch reported on Thursday that five National Assembly staff members had been questioned in connection with the missing documents.
Following the public scandal, the presidency has since uploaded the budget proposal online on the website of the budget office to douse to try and douse the tension.
