Budget Padding: Gowon Sues For Penalities

Nigeria’s former Head of
State, Gen Yakubu Gowon (rtd) has called for the prosecution of anyone indicted for budget padding.
Gen. Gowon, who spoke with newsmen at the Health Caravan and Award ceremony for the Oni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi as Royal Ambassador for Hepatitis Advocacy in Nigeria, recently, stressed that everyone connected with the matter, be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to other.
He wondered why budget padding was common place in Nigeria nowadays, adding that this never happened in the past especially during his time as Head of State.
According to him, “if that is true, if anybody is doing that, the person should be checked and stopped to ensure that such does not occur in the future. We didn’t do it during my time.”
Furthermore, he said, “we had late Chief Obafemi Awolowo incharge of our finance during my time and he taught us to survive without borrowing. Such (budget padding) should stop, there’s no point doing that.
He used the opportunity to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to firm up the ailing economy of the nation in order to alleviate the suffering of the masses.