The 2016 national budget signed by President Buhari was not padded, the Presidency said on Tuesday.

This claim was made by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang; and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Ismail Kawu with regards to the budget padding allegations in the House of Representatives.

Both lawmakers said this when they appeared before the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress at the party’s headquarters.

They told the party leaders that they were at the headquarters to make the Presidency’s position on the matter known.

Enang, while addressing journalists after the meeting on Tuesday, said, “I am here on the invitation of the APC leadership with my colleague (Kawu) to answer questions on the 2016 Appropriation Act.

“We have given explanation on every issue. There is nothing, to our knowledge, like padding of the budget. The budget, as assented to by the President, is the budget passed by the National Assembly and it is being executed.

“For now, the party is handling it as a domestic issue; a party issue. All of us have been told not to make public comments because the matter is still under consideration.

“We will not want to go into the details so that we will not breach the party’s directive or pre-empt the outcome of the party’s probe.’’

When asked if the Presidency had cleared Dogara of padding the budget, Enang said the Presidency would not “draw conclusions.”

He said, “I will say we came here as persons who work as liaison officers on the budget. The party wanted us to make clarifications and we have made those clarifications.

“We will not draw any conclusion. Please, let us not go too far by mentioning any office. Let it be that two of us have appeared before the party.”

When asked again if the Presidency’s denial of the padding of the budget had dismissed Jibrin’s allegation, Enang stated that there was nothing like padding in the legislature.

He said the legislature had the constitutional duty to amend the Appropriation Bill sent to it by the President.

“In all our years of legislative engagement, we have yet to find in the legislative lexicon the word, ‘padding.’ When the budget is presented before the legislature, the legislature is to consider the budget and pass as it deems fit.

“So, what the legislature passes becomes the Appropriation Act upon assent. Therefore, any word which has yet to crystallise in legislative lexicon, you cannot hear us mention it.”

However, a group of lawmakers known as the Transparency Group in support of the former Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin who made the allegations, are insisting that investigations must go on.

One of the members, Baballe Bashir said the zonal intervention projects of lawmakers had exposed the “rot” in budgeting process in the country.

He added, “With his vast experience as a former parliamentarian, what Enang should do is to advise the President to clean up the country’s budgetary process.

“This is not just about whether there is padding or not. Our budgeting process has problems that must be addressed. So, let him advise the President appropriately, looking at the allegations raised by Jibrin.”