The Senate is currently debating the alleged N3trillion padding of the 2024 budget.
Presenting the motion under order of public importance with reference to 9 and 10 on issue of privileges, the Senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District, Solomon Adeola olamilekun said he was moved to present the motion because his integrity and that of the National Assembly had been breached by the comments of Senator Abdul Ningi on the BBC Hausa service
In the interview that made headlines between last week and early this week, Ningi allegedly said that the 2024 budget was padded by N3 trillion and that what was originally presented to the National Assembly and passed was NN25 trillion adding that what was signed by President Bola Tinubu was N28 trillion.
The Majority leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele moved that the senate resolved to a committee of the whole where the senate president would chair the session.
Seconding the motion, Senator Joel Onowakpo ( Delta South) described Ningi’s comments as presumptuous and scandalous.
Faulting Ningi’s statement that N3trillion was inserted into the budget by the Godswill Akpabio- led Senate, which infers that the nation is operating two budgets,one N25trillion and the other,N28 trillion, and that it was the highest budget padding in the history of Nigeria since 1960, decisive action should be taken to save the integrity of the Senate following the rules of the Senate.
However, taking his turn to clarify his stand on the issue, Senator Ningi said he noticed anomalies in the budget and that there was no nexus between the N3 trillion and allocations in the budget.
Although Ningi claimed that the BBC interview that was purportedly notarised and read on the floor of the Senate by Senator Adeola did not emanate from him ,he admitted that he had documents to justify his budget comments.
At that point, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio said “it takes the two chambers” of the National Assembly to pass the budget.
He clarified that what was presented to the joint session of the National Assembly was N27.5 trillion and not N25 trillion as Ningi publicly claimed and that he expected Ningi to be remorseful but since he went to Arise TV and also stood before the Senate to say that he has more documents to justify his actions, his colleagues, the senators should look into the matter in line with the rules.
The 2024 budget was presented to the National Assembly by President Tinubu on 30 November and the Assembly had just one month to pass the budget.
At the time of filing this report, the Senate is still on the matter with overwhelming majority asking for appropriate actions against Ningi.
