Following allegations of padding the 2024 budget levelled against the executive arm of government by Senator Abdul Ningi the Nigerian Senate under the leadership of Senate President Godswill Akpabio has wielded the big axe by suspending the lawmaker from performing his legislative activities.
Ningi, from Bauchi Central Senatorial District, was suspended for three months after a long heated session in the red chamber of the National Assembly.
Senator representing Ondo South Senatorial District, Jimoh Ibrahim who also doubles as a member of the Appropriations Committee first moved the motion for Ningi’s suspension for 12 months over allegations of criminal misinformation and breach of peace in the National Assembly and the country by extension.
However, another lawmaker Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong moved for the amendment of the motion by Ibrahim. Ekpenyong, who is from Cross River South Senatorial District, prayed for the reduction of the suspension.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio while conducting a voice vote on the suspension of Ningi described the actions of Ningi as a ‘grievous’ offence.
Ningi, speaking under the aegis of the Northern Senators’ Forum in an interview with BBC Hausa Service stated that the Bola Tinubu-led administration was implementing a different budget different from the N25 trillion budget passed by the National Assembly.
Debunking the claims of Ningi, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga in a statement posted on his verified X (formerly Twitter) said a budget of N27.5 trillion and not N25 trillion as (claimed by Ningi) was presented before a joint session of the National Assembly on November 29, 2023.
“To begin with, President Tinubu on November 29, 2023 presented a budget of N27.5 Trillion to the joint session of the National Assembly made up of N9.92 Trillion recurrent expenditure, Debt Service N8.25 Trillion and Capital Expenditure N8.7 Trillion.
“This was widely reported. He did not present a budget of N25 Trillion.
“Contrary to the strange view expressed by Senator Ningi, there was no way the Senate could have debated and passed a N25 Trillion budget that was not presented to the National Assembly.”
Ningi, however backtracked on his allegations against the Tinubu-led administration saying he never claimed the President is implementing two budget.
Expressing his readiness to bear the consequences of his comments, the lawmaker from Bauchi State stated that he stands by his utterance as a Senator and not the Chairman of the Northern Senators’ Forum, that it has been established beyond doubt that N25trn was rightly allocated in the budget, citing three parameters (money, project, and location), but cannot ascertain how the budget was jerked up by N3trn.
