Nigeria, March 10 -- The presidency has accused a senator, Abdul Ningi, of lying when he claimed that President Bola Tinubu is executing a version of the 2024 budget different from the one passed by the National Assembly.

Mr Ningi, in an interview with BBC Hausa, said that the National Assembly debated and passed N25 trillion as the 2024 budget and not the N28.7 trillion that is being implemented by the federal government. The Bauchi senator, who also heads the Northern Senators Forum, also claimed that the budget was skewed against northern Nigeria.

Both claims are false, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga wrote in a statement.

"To begin with, President Tinubu on November 29, 2023, presented a budget of N27.5 Trillion to the joint...