Enang alleged that President Tinubu signed the 2024 budget in a rush without being advised by his special advisers and other ministers, according to him the agricultural budget was meant to reflect vast agricultural projects to tackle food security and hunger.
He added that the president’s special advisers, special assistant, the ministers, the heads of agencies and parastatals, and the directors in the ministries, were supposed to read, examine and reexamine the extent to which that budget is submitted before it was passed by the National Assembly, during an interview with ARISE TV.
Speaking on the speed of approval, the senator said the National Assembly passed the budget on the 31st and the President came back on the 1st and signed the budget while reiterating that Mr. President has not had the opportunity to use his ministers and ministerial advisers.
“Look at the Ministry of Budget, and I want to challenge Nigerians to look at the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture and I repeat, Nigerians, take special interest, check the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture and see the extent to which the matters that relate to agriculture are included in that budget.
“The matters that relate to agriculture and food security are not up to 35% of the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture. What you have in the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture 2024 is extraneous to agriculture. I take responsibility for what I have said. I have read the budget, I have read the budget and it is not.
“So, take again the budget of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, to what extent are the provisions there relevant to harvesting fish, getting fish and harvesting the resources of the blue economy, taking advantage of the parastatals and agencies in the blue economy? To what extent?
“These are the things that should be the concern of the legislature, of the executive, and which ought to have been taken account of by the Chief of Staff, the Secretary of Government, the ministers in the course of advising Mr. President to sign the budget.
“Passing the budget on the 30th or 31st and giving the President budget to sign on the 1st, and Mr President not having the advantage of being advised on the budget being appraised and advised on by his ministers and aides, is what I call legislative ambush”, Enang said.
