The Senate has suspended Senator Abdul Ningi over allegations of padding of the 2024 budget.
Ningi, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party representing Bauchi Central senatorial district, was suspended for three months after a long stormy session in the red chamber.
A member of the Appropriation Committee in the Senate, Senator 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.
The Northern Senators Forum comprising the 58 senators had alleged that projections and provisions of the N28.7 trillion 2024 budget are skewed against their region.
Earlier in the day, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Olamileken Adeola stormed into the chamber at about 11 am on Tuesday ahead of the commencement.
The visibly angry Senator representing Ogun West kept saying in a high tone: “No closed door, let’s do it open”.
On Monday, told a news conference in Abuja that the National Assembly allegedly padded the 2024 budget with N3 trillion. He however explained that he never said that President Bola Tinubu was running two budgets but that N3.7 trillion yet to be accounted for.
He said: “At no time did I say Bola Ahmed Tinubu is implementing two budgets. There was no time, at no time did I say Bola Tinubu was biased against the North. The Hausa version is there. At no time did I say Bola Ahmed Tinubu is implementing the N25 trillion budget.
“I said we have established beyond reasonable doubt that N25 trillion so far has nexus in the budget. That means that there is money, there is a project and then there is location. But we are yet to ascertain N3tn of that budget.
“We have established the N3 trillion of that budget, we have not established its location and the place”.
“But I said going forward, the budget evaluation is ongoing. And I said lastly, the intention of the northern senators as regards budgetary allocation was to meet the Senate President with our findings and subsequently meet President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with our findings.
“So if one is questioning our desire to relate with Bola Tinubu, how will I say that the findings of the Northern Senators Forum will go to the Senate president and then to the president and commander-in-chief”.
The National Assembly, led by the Appropriation Committee, had passed an appropriation of N22.7 trillion for the 2024 fiscal year.
A member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Adeola initially called for a press conference on Sunday but postponed it stating that the issue would be dealt with on the floor of the Senate.
He explained that his initial plan to address the issue of alleged budget padding had been withdrawn to enable the Senate to tackle the issue through internal legislative mechanisms.
Adeola to the media that said since the allegation of budget padding was made by a serving Senator, who participated in the consideration and passage of the budget, the best place to react was in the Senate Chamber on Tuesday.
He said: “As you people can see, many Senators are here with me across the six geo-political zones to react to what a senator said at the weekend on alleged two versions of the 2024 budget but after realising that there are laid down procedures and processes to follow in dealing with such a matter involving an insider, we have decided, to shift the venue of reaction to the Senate Chamber on Tuesday, after which, journalists would be briefed adequately.
In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (Hausa Service) on Saturday, Ningi alleged that the budget passed by the National Assembly for the 2024 fiscal year, is N25 trillion while the one being implemented by the Presidency is N28.7 trillion.
In the interview, Ningi was quoted to have said: “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 one was implemented by the presidency.
“The one approved by us is ₦25tn while the one operating by Federal Government is ₦28 trillion.
“Apparently, we discovered ₦3tn was inserted into the budgets for projects without locations. This is the highest budget padding that happened in Nigerian history under Senator Akpabio’s watch”.
Ningi was further quoted to have said: “We resolved as people Representatives to see President Tinubu on this issue, with facts and figures, to ask him if he is aware of this embarrassment or not, then from there we will take action.
“Let Nigerians be patient with us. This is a national issue; it affects all Nigerians in respective of party, tribe or religion”.
In a chat with The PUNCH on Saturday night, Senate spokesperson, Senator Yemi Adaramodu (APC, Ekiti South) refuted the claim, stating that there was no padding whatsoever in the budget.
Adaramodu said: “There is no budget padding as far as the Senate and the National Assembly are concerned.
“The national budget is a public document, which expressly states the expected revenue and the expenditure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The Senate under the leadership of Senator Godswill Akpabio is not aware of any varied execution of the 2024 appropriation mandate, as approved.
“The budget presentation and approval processes were made in the public glare, while the Presidential assent was also in a public ceremony.
“Any infractions would have been brought before the Senate, if any. The general public should be at rest that there is no budget padding anywhere and we are confident that the 2024 appropriation law shall be strictly executed, under strict legislative oversight”.
