•Senator Ningi
The crisis of integrity rocking the 10th Senate under the leadership of Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio following the Senator Abdul Ningi’s allegation of budget Padding to the tune of N3.7trillion, worsened on Tuesday with Senator Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe also alleging that some high ranking Senators got N500million each from the 2024 appropriation.
Jarigbe who is representing Cross River North disclosed this during plenary session in the Red Chamber in Abuja as the controversy of an allegations of budget padding made by Senator Abdul Ningi in an interview with BBC Hausa heightened.
Ningi had earlier accused the Senate of paddling the 2024 budget, saying the National Assembly added more N3.7 billion to the initial budget.
However, while reacting to the issue, the federal lawmaker from Cross River State said all senators are guilty of such practice, alleging that some senior senators received N500 million each from the 2024 appropriation bill.
“If we want to go into this issue, all of us are culpable. Some senators here, so called senior senators got N500 million each. I am a ranking senator. I didn’t get. Did I go to the press? We don’t have to go into those issues,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Senate president, Godswill Akpabio, had the senator’s mic muted amid his speech.
Earlier, the lawmaker presenting Bauchi Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Abdul Ningi, had accused the Senate of budget padding.
In an interview with BBC Hausa, Ningi reportedly indicted the National Assembly for padding the 2024 budget with a whooping sum of N3trillon.
But on Senate floor Tuesday, Ningi denied saying he made any allegations against the president.
Ningi explained that he never said the president was running two budgets but that there was N3.7 trillion yet to be accounted for.
“Let me concur to about 80% of the translation read out by Senator Yayi. I think they have done a fair job, except on some issues they could not understand.
“The beginning of this brouhaha started with this text. Senator Abdul Ningi is purported to be the author of this document. Let me for the avoidance of doubt, I have never issued a statement of this nature to anybody anywhere and anytime.
“I want members of this Senate to record it, this is a fake observation that was forwarded, I do not know the author of this,” he said.
However, the Senate on Tuesday suspended Senator Abdul Ningi for three months over claim that the 2024 Budget was padded to the tune of N3.7 trillion.
Ningi, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) from Bauchi Central, Bauchi State, is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Population and also Chairman of Northern Senators Forum.
Before the suspension, Senator Olamilekan Adeola (APC, Ogun West) raised a motion that there is urgent need for the Senate to hold open session plenary and address the budget padding claim by Ningi.
Adeola, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, read the transcript of Ningi’s Hausa BBC interview on the floor of the house after the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, had called for a committee of the whole house.
Meanwhile, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim moved an amended motion for the suspension of Ningi for 12 months while adding that Senator Sumaila Kawu (Kano South, NNPP) be warned.
Senator Chris Ekpeyong (Akwa-Ibom North-West, PDP) opposed this by moving a motion of amendment that the suspension be reduced to six months, and it was seconded.
One other Senator, Garba Maidoki (Kebbi South), however, made further amendment, asking that Ningi be suspended for three months.
After putting the amended motion to a voice vote, Akpabio ruled, “Senator Ningi is hereby suspended from the Senate for a period of three months.”
Immediately after the pronouncement was made, Ningi was led out of the floor of the Senate by one of the Sergeants-at-arm.
The embattled Ningi also immediately resigned from his Chairmanship position of Northern Senators Forum, where majority of the members had earlier disowned him over his “skewed and incorrect” claims regarding 2024 budget.
Ningi’s Allegation, A Civilian Coup Against Akpabio – Senate Leader
Senator Opeyemi Bamidele from Ekiti Central Senatorial District has described as a “civilian coup,” claims made by Senator Abdul Ningi that the 2024 Budget passed by the Senate was padded.
Bamidele, who is also the Majority Leader of the upper chamber, alleged that Ningi attempted to unseat Senate President Godswill Akpabio by allegedly inciting the Northern Senators’ Forum against him, a southern senator, who took over from Ahmad Lawan.
He said, “We must never accept any apology from Senator Ningi. It is ridiculous to do so. He lied deliberately. Mr Senate President, you’re occupying that seat 40 years after a South South person occupied it.
“The last time a Southerner was there was during Obasanjo and they were being changed every time. It was only stable when it returned to the north. David Mark spent 8 years, Saraki completed his 4 years, Lawan spent his 4 years. Don’t be deceived, the losers of June 2023 Senate President election are still angry. Some have accepted but a few haven’t.
“They have plotted to remove you before June 2024. That is why you must not allow this deliberate mischief by Ningi to go away. He did it on purpose. He knew he was lying, he set the public against you, he will do it again. We must apply our sanction.”
Earlier, Akpabio had expressed concern that the Ningi’s claim of budget padding has totally damaged the image of the Senate as Nigerians – home and abroad, continued to bash them.
“Nigerians are bashing the Senate. Many Nigerians will never in future come back to respect this chamber. The integrity of this chamber has been totally damaged and we wanted you to repair it with your speech.
“Instead of that, you said you have more documents to prove what you are saying. This thing is in the public glare. I have not received full details up to this moment. If you had given me full details, I would have been able to know what you know.
“So far, what you know is only known to you, it is not known to any other person. I don’t know how you rushed to the press carrying different versions. The social media is very fast. From Canada, the United States, everywhere, the story was budget padding by the Senate.
“I can quote a section of the Premium Times that said ‘this is the highest level of budget padding in Nigeria’s history where the budget passed a budget of N25 trillion but what we collect was N28 trillion,” Akpabio said.
