Victor EzejaThe embattled Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central) and Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe (PDP, Cross-River North) have accused the 10th Senate leadership of allocating more funds to some constituencies than others for projects in the 2024 national budget.
Senator Ningi made his claim while speaking on the floor of the Senate during plenary on Tuesday with n respect to a motion moved by chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Solomon Olamilekan Adeola.
Senator Adeola moved a motion for the senate to urgently address issues arising from the interview granted by Senator Ningi where he claimed to have discovered that the sum of N3 trillion out of the total N28.77 trillion approved 2024 budget was not tied to any specific project.
While responding, Ningi said: “Perusing through the budget, we discovered some humongous anomalies of repetition. We discovered that some senatorial districts have up to N120 billion and my senatorial district has just N2 billion. Mr President, in this budget that Yari presented to you, I have facts constituency by constituency. Some N120 billion, some N50 billion, some N30 billion, some have less than N 1 billion.”
He also challenged the Senate President and other principal officers to make public their take-home pay, as he and other members of the Senate do not know.
He also said that for the allocation made for the purchase of SUVs for the lawmakers, he does not know how much was offered for the principal officers, adding that he is yet to receive any car as announced to the public while he and other senators have been called names because of that.
‘Senior Senators Got N500m Each From 2024 Budget’ – Jarigbe
On his part, Senator Jarigbe while contributing to the motion moved by Senator Adeola over Ningi’s false claims on the budget, equally made a revelation that all ranking senators got the sum of N500 million as allocation to their constituencies from the 2024 budget but he and some other senators did not.
He said: “All of us are culpable. Some so-called Senior Senators here got 500 million Naira each from the 2024 Budget, I am a ranking Senator I didn’t get anything. No Senator has a right to accuse Senator Ningi.”
Senator Ningi was subsequently suspended for three months as punishment for his comments.
READ ALSO: Senate Suspends Ningi For 3 Months Over Budget Padding Allegation
Ningi Resigns As Northern Senators Forum Chairman
Meanwhile, the embattled senator has announced his resignation as chairman of the Northern Senators Forum.
This was confirmed in a letter dated 11 March 2024 signed by Ningi and addressed to the Forum’s secretary.
He said: “I will like to resign my position as the Chairman of Northern Senators forum. This is of course necessitated by unfolding events in the National Assembly, the North, and the Nation at large.
“I will like to specially thank members of the forum for the opportunity given to me for the last eight (8) months to spearhead this very important forum. I believe this forum is very important and fundamental to the progress and development of Northern Nigeria.”
His resignation might not be unconnected to the fact that the northern senators did not support him.
Some members of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF) had issued a statement on Monday dissociating themselves from the allegation of padding in the approved 2024 budget made by Abdul Ningi.
Seven senators who were signatories to the statement are Aminu Abass (PDP, Adamawa Central), Ibrahim Bomai (APC, Yobe South), Abdulaziz Yar’adua (APC, Katsina Central) and Lawal Usman (PDP, Kaduna Central).
Others are Isah Jibrin (APC, Kogi East), Diket Plang (APC, Plateau Central) and Saliu Mustapha (APC, Kwara Central).
Insisting that there was no budget padding in the approved 2024 budget the seven senators said: “To the best of our knowledge, there was no budget padding, whatsoever that was done to the 2024 budget. The assertion by Senator Ningi that certain things were done to the bill is his personal opinion. It is not the view of the generality of us, the senators.
“Hence, we strongly and collectively dissociate ourselves from his action which was grossly unparliamentary.”
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
