Sanusi had alleged that 25 per cent of the recurrent overhead of the budget of the Federal Government was used to fund the National Assembly.
Spokesman for the Senate, Senator Ayogu Eze, said that the 25 per cent figure as supposed by Sanusi was misleading, as the National Assembly only got 3.5 per cent of the 2010 budget.
He said, “I want to state categorically that that is not true. The total budget figure for the year 2010 as amended is N4,427,184, 596,534. That is the entire budget of the federation. And the entire budget of the National Assembly, including the Senate, the House of Reps, the National Assembly Service Commission, our legislative aides and all the entire current and capital expenditure for the year 2010 is N158,916,167,627.
“If you reduce this to mathematics, what we have is N4.427tn for the entire federation and what the National Assembly get is N0.158tn which is 3.5 per cent of the entire budget of the federation. So where did the mathematics of the 25 per cent come from?
“I think that this is not only mischievous, it is calculated to tarnish the image and reputation of the National Assembly, and it is part of the orchestrated assault, verbal and sometime physical, against the National Assembly by some misinformed and some people who do not wish the National Assembly well, otherwise I do not see how that kind of figure can be bandied about by the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, if it is true that he said so.”
Eze noted that the reports credited to Sanusi portrayed the legislature as having crippled the economy, adding that the statement was embarrassing and directed towards dragging down the institution of the legislature.
He said, “This is pure fallacy. I do not know where this fabrication is coming from and he did say that the National Assembly has taken 25 per cent of all the overhead cost. And I want to state that the total overhead cost of the federation is N2,137,574,700,030.
“So even if you look at the whole budget of the National Assembly as a percentage of the entire recurrent of the federation, you cannot get 25 per cent no matter how you push this figure.
“My instinct is to believe that the governor of the Central Bank was misquoted and if he is not misquoted, we expect that he should retract this very fallacious and very damaging report with an apology because he does not have a foundation in facts.”
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