No N4.5bn Padded Into Our 2022 Budget, Says NDLEA

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has dismissed reports that N4.5 billion was padded into its proposed 2022 budget.

In a statement on Wednesday by its Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the agency said it has been bombarded with calls and messages since Tuesday, seeking clarification on an alleged insertion of N4.5billion for the construction of police barracks into its proposed budget being considered by the Senate.

“This statement is, therefore, a formal response and clarification of reports that suggest that the agency’s budget proposal submitted by the Federal Ministry of Finance was padded with N4.5billion for construction of police barracks.

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“It is public knowledge that President Muhamadu Buhari magnanimously approved the construction of barracks for NDLEA over a period of four years starting from the 2022 fiscal year,” the statement read in part.

The NDLEA’s comments come a day after the Senate rejected the report of its Committee on Drugs and Narcotics when it uncovered the document that “illegally contained” N4.5 billion said to be for the construction of Police barracks.

The agency, however, clarified that investigations have confirmed that the amount in question is indeed for the construction of NDLEA barracks but typographically inputted as ‘police barracks’ in one of the documents attached to the proposal from the Budget Office.

Babafemi said the typo error has since been corrected and the budget cleared by the Senate Committee.