Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo-Udoma,  has defended the 2016 budget document signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, insisting that the signed budget was better than the first one returned by the National Assembly.

He made the statement during a town hall meeting organized by the federal government in Abuja on Tuesday.

The town hall meeting which was attended by Nigerians from different walks of life, focused on the implementation of the 2016 budget and good governance policy of the Buhari administration.

Udo-Udoma was responding to questions on whether there are items in the budget that reflected the allegations of padding  raised by Abdulmumin Jubrin, former chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation.

“The Executive sent the budget to the National Assembly, but was not satisfied with the initial output by the legislature, which reworked it and returned it to the Presidency,” he explained.

He added that the President signed the budget because the document was a better document.

Also speaking at the meeting, Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, while defending the borrowing policy of the current administration, also assured Nigerians that the country would overcome the current recession.

Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Power, House and Works also expressed hopes that the budget would make the desired impact on Nigerians.

Also at the event was the Sultan of Sokoto, Saad Abubakar, who tasked the government to ensure that the 2016 budget was not just a budget on paper, but one that would be effectively implemented.