The House of Representatives Committee on Public Account has accused the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed and the Director General of the Budget Office of undermining, Ben Akabueze of undermining the anti-corruption fight of president Muhammadu Buhari.
The Chairman of the Committee, Oluwole Oke made the allegation on Wednesday at a budget defence session.
He stated that the reduction of the capital project budget of the Office of the Auditor General from N2.5 billion to N62 million is a deliberate attempt by the Minister and the DG budget office to undermine the capacity of the office to fight corruption.
“We have seen the determination of the lieutenants of Mr President, particularly the Minister of Finance and the DG Budget Office to undermine Mr President in his determination to wage war against corruption in the land. Otherwise, why would you allocate several billions to ancillary institutions and you are giving N62m to the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation to fund capital (projects) – a constitutional office?” Mr Oke said.
The two officials have been summoned by the lawmakers to explain the reduction.