Alleged Budget padding: Senate suspends Senator Ningi

The Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF), Senator Abdul Ningi who recently alleged President Bola Tinubu led administration of budget padding with N3trillion has been suspended for three months

Penpushing reports that the Senate announced suspension of Ningi representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District, on Tuesday after it was supported by a majority of senators during deliberation at the Committee of the Whole.

The Senate President Senator Godswill Akpabio who announced the suspension declared that the upper chamber resolved that if Ningi could send an apology letter, the leadership of the senate would, thereafter, decide whether to lift the suspension or not.

Penpushing further reports that the Senate emphasized that following the suspension, the embattled federal lawmaker should do away from all activities relating to the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Adeola Olamilekan, representing Ogun West Senatorial District had during the plenary raised order for Ningi suspension, and while raising the point of order Olamilekan said his privilege as a senator and chair of the joint Appropriation Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, which scrutinised the budget, had been breached as a result of the budget padding allegation levelled against the 10th Assembly.

Penpushing also reports that he therefore, urged his colleagues to intervene in the budget padding scandal to allow the public to understand the truth about the process of budget approval, stressing that he came with the order because his (Olamilekan) privilege has been breached

“I have come up with this order this morning because my privilege has been breached and because I am one of those who participated in the preparation of the budget. As chairman of the Appropriation (committee) and for what has transpired in the last few days, my privilege has been breached. My privilege has been breached and I focused on the part that affects me and not the whole interview. It is on that premise that I come up in the Senate to protect me,” he said.

Penpushing reports that he explained that the Presidency proposed a total of N27.5 trillion budget but after a series of deliberations, the lawmakers agreed to increase the budget to N28.77 trillion which was unanimously approved last December.

The Ogun State Senator pointed out that his colleagues resolved to increase the budget with N1.2 trillion due to the request for additional funding for some items of expenditure which were not included in the bill to address issues in Judiciary, Agriculture and Food Security, Works, Science and Technology, Education, Water Resources, National Assembly, Health and National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme.

Penpushing further reports that Olamilekan added that the benchmark of naira to the dollar was another reason members of the appropriation committee decided to increase the budget with an additional N1.2 trillion.

‘Notes that following the presentation of the 2024 Appropriation Bill of N27.5 Trillion by the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR to the Joint Sitting of the Senate and the House of Representatives on Wednesday 29th November 2023, and following the debates of the general principles of the bill at Second Reading from Thursday 30th November to Friday 1st December 2023, the bill was committed to the Committee on Appropriations for further legislative action’, he stated

‘Also Notes that to attain the January-December Budget Cycle, sub-committees submitted their harmonised reports to the Committee on Appropriation and the report of the Committee on Appropriation submitted to the Senate was unanimously passed on Saturday 30th December, 2023 and a Budget of N28.77 trillion was assented by the President C in C on the 1st January, 2024; As shown in the table below;

“Aware that the additional increase of N1.2 Trillion to what was presented by the President came during the appropriation process through additional funding requests and some items of expenditure to the Committee that were not included in the bill as submitted by the President and were meant to address additional funding for the Judiciary, Agriculture and Food Security, Works, Science and Technology, Education, Water Resources, National Assembly, Health and National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme.

‘Also aware that the additional source of funding for the increase came from the increase in the benchmark of naira to dollar from N750-N800, increase in Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs) revenue and other sources’, he added

Penpushing also reports that Olamilekan submitted to the Senate a voice recording documented in a flash drive and a transcript of the interview granted by Ningi to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations thereafter, read the transcript of the interview Ningi granted with British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hausa on the floor of the Senate, stressing that he is disturbed by the budget padding allegation which has been generating issues among members of the public.

Penpushing reports that Olamilekan therefore called on members of the Senate to take immediate action on the allegation to save the integrity of the Nigerian Senate in the interest of the public as a matter of urgent public importance

“Pursuant to Order 1(b) of the Senate Standing Order 2023 (as Amended) allow immediate deliberation of this matter and take appropriate action deemed fit in the overriding public interest and as a matter of urgent public importance to prevent break down of law and order;

‘Take further necessary steps to correct the wrong impression in public domain of 2024 budget created by the BBC interview and other national media houses and social media platforms by Senator Abdul Ningi and amplified by Senator Suleiman Abdulrahman Kawu through his Facebook account and other social media platforms; and take any further decision as the Senate deem fit and proper to safeguard the integrity of the 2024 budget which is pivotal to the revamping of our economy” he argued.

Penpushing further reports that Senator Joel Ewomazino of All Progressives Congress (APC) Delta State seconded Olamilekan’s point of order, stating that the allegation against the Senate is scandalous and an attempt to incite the public against members of the National Assembly and the Presidency.

‘Speaking without fact-checking is worrisome. I am a member of the appropriation committee, and what we passed was N28 trillion. This assertion must be promptly investigated to save the integrity of the Senate and my integrity because all eyes are on us,” he said.

The Minority Whip, Senator Oyewunmi Olalere, urged the Senate to grant a fair hearing to Ningi, while in same vein, his counterpart Senator Adamu Aliero of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Kebbi State pleaded with the Senate to grant Ningi a fair hearing.

Penpushing also reports that the suspended Senator in response to the transcript, Mr Ningi argued that he never told any media organisation that the budget was padded, as he agreed with about 80 percent of the translation read at the floor

“Let me concur with about 80 per cent of the translation read out by Yayi. I have never said the budget was padded. For the avoidance of doubt, I have never issued a statement of this nature to anybody. This is a fake contribution that was forwarded. Having listened to the transcription, have you discovered this position?” he asked.

Penpushing reports that the embattled Senator insisted that there was an array of repetition of some senatorial districts in the budgetary allocation for constituency projects, adding that some senatorial districts have billion and his own senatorial district has just N2billion.

‘We discovered an array of anomalies of repetition. We discovered repetition of senatorial districts. Some senatorial districts have billions and my own senatorial district has just N2 billion, some N120 billion, some N50 billion, some N30 billion and some have less than N1 billion,” he added.

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