No N4.5bn Padded Into NDLEA 2022 Budget, Says Agency

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has dismissed insinuations from some reports that N4.5 billion was padded into its proposed 2022 budget.

The spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi said on Wednesday that the agency was inundated with calls and messages since Tuesday seeking clarification on an alleged insertion of N4.5 billion for the construction of police barracks into the NDLEA’s proposed budget being considered by the Senate.

Babafemi said: “This statement is, therefore, a formal response and clarification of reports that suggest that the agency’s budget proposal submitted by the Federal Ministry of Finance was padded with N4.5 billion for construction of police barracks.”

He added that: “It is public knowledge that President Muhamadu Buhari magnanimously approved the construction of barracks for NDLEA over a period of four years starting from 2022 fiscal year. Investigations have confirmed that the amount in question is indeed for the construction of NDLEA barracks but typographically inputted as ‘police barracks’ in one of the documents attached to the proposal from the Budget Office.”

He noted that the typo error has since been corrected and the budget cleared on Tuesday by the Senate Committee.