N33b budget padding: House clears Orelope-Adefulire

The House Committee on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has cleared Victoria Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs) of Financial Impropriety.

Chairman of the House Committee on SDGs, Mr. Rotimi Agunsoye declared it was untrue that the office of the OSSAP-SDGs was appropriated N33 billion in the 2020 budget assented by the President.

The committee maintained that it’s finding revealed that the prevalence of COVID-19 distorted implementation of the entire 2020 budget. 

It noted: “In setting the records straight, The House Committee on SDGs hereby states that a correspondence was sent to the Finance Ministry in respect of the subject matter, upon which clarification was sought from the SDGs office without any indictment on the person or the office of the SSA-SDGs, indicating misappropriation of the 2020 budgetary allocation of her office.

“This clarification became imperative to avoid any misrepresentation of the earlier correspondence between the National Assembly Committees on SDGs and Finance Ministry as any financial indictment on the person and office of the OSSAP-SDGs.”