By Michael Agbaji
The Senate on Tuesday suspended Senator Abdul Ningi for a period of three months over allegations of N3 trillion naira 2024 Budget padding.
Senator Ningi, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District, was suspended after a heated session in the red chamber.
Ningi, who is the chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, at the weekend told BBC Hausa that the members of the Forum sought the service of a private auditor and discovered that two budgets are currently being operated by the executive.
He alleged that one of the budgets was N25 trillion while the second one being implemented by the federal government was N28 trillion, after being padded with N3 trillion
Sequel to the motion raised by senator Solomon Olamilekan Chairman Appropriation Committee in the Senate, Jimoh Ibrahim, 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, other lawmakers like 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.
Ningi in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (Hausa Service) on Saturday, Senator Ningi said that the budget being implemented by the Presidency is N28.7tn, whereas the one approved by the National Assembly for the 2024 fiscal year is N25tn.
In the interview, Senator Ningi was cited as saying, “For the first time in Nigerian history, today we are operating two different budgets. One budget was approved by the National Assembly and signed by President Bola Tinubu and the presidency implemented the one.”
