I will deal with those who “padded” the budget, Buhari vows

President Mohammadu Buhari has vowed to deal decisively with those said to be the masterminds of the “budget padding”this was even as the President, for the first time, admitted that the budget he submitted to the national legislature late December 2015 for approval had been utterly doctored.
Addressing the Nigerian Community in Saudi Arabia late Tuesday night, President Buhari condemned the distortion of the budget proposals by entrenched interests.
He revealed that the minister of budget and national planning, Mr. Udo Udoma did an excellent job of
knitting the budget together, only to be distorted by unknown persons.
The President said that the unauthorised alterations had completely changed the document from the one he presented to the National Assembly, vowing to severely punish anyone found culpable.
“The culprits will not go unpunished. I have been a military governor, petroleum minister, military Head of State and headed the Petroleum Trust Fund.
“Never had I heard the words “budget padding”. Our Minister of Budget and National Planning did a great job with his team. The Minister became almost half his size during the time, working night and day to get the budget ready, only for some people to pad it.
“What he gave us was not what was finally being debated. It is very embarrassing and disappointing. We will not allow those who did it to go unpunished,” President Buhari vowed.