Yusuf Galambi, House of Representatives, President Bola Tinubu, 2024 Budget, Empty Boxes, National Assembly, Budget Presentation, Allegation, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, BBC Hausa Service, National Assembly Leaders.A member of the House of Representatives, Yusuf Galambi, has accused President Bola Tinubu of presenting ’empty’ boxes purportedly containing the 2024 budget during the joint session of the National Assembly. Galambi, representing Gwaram federal constituency of Jigawa State, alleged that although Mr. Tinubu read out the budget speech and proposals for various sectors, the lawmakers later discovered that the boxes laid by the President were empty.
In an interview with BBC Hausa Service, Galambi claimed that checking the boxes revealed no documents inside, a departure from the tradition of previous presidents who presented physical copies of the budget for lawmakers’ scrutiny. The lawmaker suggested that the National Assembly leaders might be covering up the incident.
Responding to the accusation, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Print Media, dismissed the claim as a nonsensical allegation aimed at misleading the public. Abdulaziz explained that the President is not expected to present the entire set of heavy documents, likening the laying of the documents to the presentation of dummy cheques at award ceremonies.
