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Obasanjo denies signing budgets without details

By Mohammed Abubakar, Abuja
07 April 2016   |   4:26 pm
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has denied claims he signed budgets into law without getting details.
President Muhammadu Buhari  welcoming former President  Olusegun Obasanjo to his office at the State House Abuja on Thursday, 7th April, 2016. PHOTO: Philip Ojisua

President Muhammadu Buhari welcoming former President Olusegun Obasanjo to his office at the State House Abuja on Thursday, 7th April, 2016. PHOTO: Philip Ojisua

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has denied claims by the Chairman of the Appropriation Committee of the House of Representatives, Abdulmumini Jibrin that he, (Obasanjo) and late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua signed budgets into law without getting details.

He made the denial in a chat with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in the state of insecurity in the North East at the Presidential Villa Abuja on Thursday.

Jibrin had in the heat of controversy trailing the claims the Presidency that the lawmakers a fortnight ago that the lawmakers merely sent highlights of the 2016 budget without the details, an action that attracted nationwide reaction.

But when asked if the claims of the members of the House of Representatives were true, Obasanjo, who  displayed surprise at the question retorted, “Eh en I signed the budget without details? Anybody who told you that, go and ask him again.”

The former President, who offered his thoughts on the controversy surrounding the delay in signing of the 2016 budget by the President the former leader said the constitution allows the executive to continue with the budget “provided you did not go beyond the previous year. That can be done up to the middle of the year”.

However, he would not speak on the budget itself because he had not read the details of the document.

His words: “Before I will be able to tell you something about the budget, I have to read it and know what it contains and what it does not contain, to know what to talk about.”

Explaining his visit to the President, Obasanjo said it was in connection with his recent visit to some troubled north east states. According to him, “You know that not too long ago I was out there and I came to share some of my experiences with him.”

But he would not go into the details of the experiences, saying, “If I say I share experiences with my wife, will you ask what I discussed with my wife?”

The former leader was recently in Maiduguri assessment visit of the Internally displaced persons, IDPs.

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