Budget padding: Buhari removes 22 top directors from budget office

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday approved the immediate deployment of 22 top directors from the Budget office.

Authorities said the redeployment is part of a service-wide posting involving about 184 senior staff in various ministries, departments and agencies, in the federal civil service.

But the 22 officials were moved less than a month after the President fired the then Director-General of the Budget Office, Yahaya Gusau, and immediately replaced him with the incumbent, Tijjani Abdullahi.

Mr. Gusau was sacked February 15,  following the widespread irregularities detected in the 2016 budget presently under consideration by the National Assembly.

His former subordinates have now been directed to exit with immediate effect, and to report to their new stations on Friday, March 11.

The postings, announced by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, affected four directors, six deputy directors and 12 assistant directors in the organisation.

The names of the affected officials were not immediately available.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that 14 other senior officials have been posted from various MDAs, to replace the redeployed officials.

The redeployment of the 22 top officials of the Budget Office may not be unconnected with the directive by the President for all those identified to have been involved in the embarrassing budget padding controversy to be sanctioned.

The president had assured Nigerians recently that his administration would not spare any effort to ensure that aĺl officials involved in the budget padding controversy were not only identified, but also sanctioned.