2016 Budget Fraud: Buhari's redeployment of budget criminals confirms his complicity in the historic fraud

2016 Budget Fraud: Buhari's redeployment of budget criminals confirms his complicity in the historic fraud

When it was revealed that the 2016 budget, which was personally presented to the Nigerian National Assembly by General Muhammadu Buhari was imbued with fraudulent estimates, people were astonished. Shamefaced Buhari subsequently vowed he would deal with those involved with the fraud. 

Few weeks later, Buhari who is claiming to be fighting corruption, handed the lightest punishment ever meted out to criminals in Nigeria. He gave them a slap on the wrist by merely redeploying some civil servants from the budget office, who he claimed were the budget 'rats' that allegedly 'padded' the budget.

That was the key to suggest that Buhari and his cohorts were complicit in the budget fraud. The real crooks who padded the budget were not the civil servants redeployed, but rather political bigwigs around Buhari. 

Buhari merely used the 184 top officials from the country’s budget office as cannon fodder for his allies. Ordinary, people who plotted such monumental fraud on a country would be sacked, tried and jailed. But Buhari's not wanting to open the can of worm on his fraudulent administration, decided to pat them on the back. 

Reacting to the outrageous action, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce stated the following: "If a civil servant pads a budget and all that's done is to redeploy him, then what will stop his replacement from padding his own budget?"

Ben Murray-Bruce‏@benmurraybruce

If a civil servant pads a budget and all that's done is to redeploy him, then what will stop his replacement from padding his own budget?