Amidst a storm of controversy swirling around the 2024 Budget, Senator Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe of the People’s Democratic Party has vehemently denied allegations of senators lining their pockets with a hefty N500 million windfall, asserting instead that the funds were allocated for projects.
In a candid interview on Arise Television, Senator Jarigbe vehemently defended the disbursal of funds, asserting that the hefty sum was designated for projects and not personal enrichment.
“There has never been a time when we had an equitable distribution of resources or values to constituencies across the country. It has never happened, so what’s happening now is not novel.
“That is why I stated it unequivocally on the floor of the Senate that while Senator Ningi raised the issue of some senators having N50, N100 billion on the budget for their constituency;
“…I have it on good authority that some senators were given projects worth N500 million in their budgetary provision for their senatorial district, not that senators were given N500 million for their pockets. My mic went off while I was making my point.
“The truth is that some of them had more funding in their sentorial district, while some of us had less. So there was no need for some of us who are encumbered to go to the press to make statements that are unfounded,” he said.
Jarigbe’s bombshell disclosure peeled back the layers of intrigue surrounding the contentious budget, further fueled by Senator Abdul Ningi’s explosive allegations of N3.7 trillion padding.
