The Nigerian Senate has suspended Senator Abdul Ningi for 3 months following allegations of Budget Padding.
During an Interview on BBC Hausa last week, Ningi accused the Senate of Padding the 2024 appropriation bill to the tune of N3.6 Trillion.
Ningi represents PDP, Bauchi Central. Despite outrage and widespread condemnation from his colleagues in the Red Chamber, Ningi maintained his position on Monday that N3.7tn could not be accounted for in the 2024 budget.
During Plenary on Tuesday, Senator Olamilekan Adeola (APC, Ogun West) raised a motion that there is urgent need to address the false allegations 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 Senate President Godswill Akpabio called for a committee of the whole house.
Senator Jimoh Ibrahim then moved for the suspension of Ningi for 12 months.
The session became heated with Majority of the Senators clamoring that it should be reduced to 3 months.
Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe ( Cross River North) during plenary said there was no N3.7 trillion padded to the 2024 budget ,even as the Senate cleared the Senate President Godswill Akpabio of any wrong doing .
Senator Jarigbe who’s the chairman of the Senate Committee on Gas dismissed the reported N3.7 trillion padding to 2024 budget as false and urged lawmakers to always protect the sanctity of the institution of the Senate. Senate at a plenary session in which members reacted to alleged N3.7trillion padding by Senator Abdul Ningi also insisted that it only passed N28trillion and not N3.7trillion as alleged by Ningi
But Senator Jarigbe in a reaction insisted there was no such padding adding that senators were at peace with explanation by the Senate Committee on Appropriation
According to him ” there was no padding of the Budget with 3. 7 trillion, as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations clears the issue of Budget Padding.
He advised Senators not to destroy the Sanctity and integrity of the Senate because most of the senior Senators got extra Projects in their Districts but some other Senators, like himself did not get that incentive.
Sen. Ningi was thereafter suspended for 3 months from the Nigerian Senate and has also resigned as chairman of the Northern Senators Forum.