2022 Budget: NDLEA Speaks On Construction Of N4.5bn ‘Police Barracks’

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has denied earmarking the sum of N4.5 billion for the construction of “police barracks” in its 2022 budget.

Naija News reports that the Senate Committee on Drugs and Narcotics had uncovered the sum of N4.5 billion in NDLEA’s budget while scrutinising the document.

According to the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Hezekiah Dimka, the anomaly was discovered and reported to the Appropriation Committee.

Reacting to the development in a statement on Wednesday, NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, says the money budgeted was actually meant for the construction of the agency’s barracks.

Babafemi stated that the budget document presented by the Budget Officer has a “typographical error” which has been corrected by the agency.

The NDLEA spokesman added that the budget has since been cleared on Tuesday by the Senate Committee on Drugs and Narcotics.

He, however, submitted that the agency’s budget proposal submitted by the federal ministry of finance was not padded as been reported in the media.

The statement reads: “The Agency has been inundated with calls and messages since Tuesday seeking clarification on an alleged insertion of N4.5billion for the construction of police barracks into the NDLEA’s proposed budget being considered by the Senate.

“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 N4.5billion for the construction of police barracks.

“It is public knowledge that President Muhamadu Buhari magnanimously approved the construction of barracks for NDLEA over a period of four years starting from the 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.

“The typo error has since been corrected and the budget was cleared on Tuesday by the Senate committee.”