- Akpabio Bombs Ningi For Causing Huge Damage To Senate With His Wild Accusation
- Upper Chamber In Rowdy Session As Plot To Unseat Akpabio As Senate President Is Unveiled
- Jarigbe Opens Fresh Can Of Worms, Reveals How Some Senators Got N500m From 2024 Budget
- Reactions Trail Ningi’s Suspension As Embattled Senator Resigns As Northern Senators Forum Chairman
By Babajide Okeowo And Lawrence Enyoghasu
The relative peace enjoyed by the 10th Senate appears threatened with recently unfolding events at the Upper Chamber of the Nigerian National Assembly.
The Senate witnessed an uproar and rowdy session at plenary on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 as accusations and counter accusations flew around with report of a civilian coup attempting to unseat Godswill Akpabio as the Senate President came to the fore.
The Matrix gathered that trouble started when Senator Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District of Bauchi State during an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (Hausa Service) on Saturday, alleged that the budget being implemented by the Presidency is N28.7tn, whereas the one approved by the National Assembly for the 2024 fiscal year is N25tn.
In the interview, Senator Ningi was quoted as saying, “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 other one was implemented by the presidency.”
READ ALSO: Budget Padding:Senate Suspends Ningi
He stated, “The one approved by us is ₦25trn while the one operating by the Government is ₦28tn.
“Apparently, we discovered ₦3trn 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.”
He added, “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.”
The statement was met with stiff reactions from several quarters and condemnation from the Senate as his colleagues and those from the Northern Forum distanced themselves from the embattled senator.
As a fallout from the crisis, the embattled Senator was on Tuesday suspended from the Senate for three months.
However, the Senate had a rowdy session today as senators bickered, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Adeola Olamilekan, moved a motion, calling for the investigation of the claim by Ningi.
Adeola’s motion was seconded by Senator Joel Onawakpo, after which senators engaged in a stormy debate while speaking on the matter.
Senator Adamu Aliero, representing Kebbi Central Senatorial District, raised a point of order, asking the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, to ensure a fair hearing by allowing the man at the centre of the controversy to state his side of the story.
Responding, Akpabio, on Tuesday said the integrity of the Senate has been totally damaged.
Speaking during an open session he president on the floor of the Senate, Akpabio said the upper chamber has been subjected to ridicule as Nigerians are bashing the parliament.
Akpabio faulted Ningi’s earlier interview and for also granting a follow-up interview where he purportedly justified his initial claim of budget padding.
“Nigerians are bashing the Senate. Many Nigerians will never in future come back to respect this chamber. The integrity of this chamber has been totally damaged and we wanted you to repair it with your speech,” he said.
“Instead of that, you said you have more documents to prove what you are saying. This thing is in the public glare. I have not received full details up to this moment. If you had given me full details, I would have been able to know what you know.
“So far, what you know is only known to you, it is not known to any other person. I don’t know how you rushed to the press carrying different versions. The social media is very fast. From Canada, the United States, everywhere, the story was budget padding by the Senate.
READ ALSO: UPDATED: Senate Falls Apart As Ningi Bags Suspension, Jarigbe Opens Up On ‘N500m’ Paid To Senior Senators
“I can quote a section of the Premium Times that said ‘this is the highest level of budget padding in Nigeria’s history where the budget passed a budget of N25 trillion but what we collect was N28 trillion.”
Adding another dimension to the issue, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele from Ekiti Central Senatorial District revealed that Ningi planned a “civilian coup” to unseat Akpabio as Senate President.
furious Bamidele, who is also the Majority Leader of the upper chamber, alleged that Ningi, attempted to unseat Akpabio by allegedly inciting the Northern Senators’ Forum which he led against Akpabio, a southern senator, who took over from Ahmad Lawan.
Bamidele said, “What my big brother, distinguished Senator Abdul Ningi, whom I respect so well, planned to do or set out to do was tantamount to a civilian coup which has failed. And in doing this, he wanted to use the platform of the Northern Senators’ Forum. God bless all those who have dissociated themselves from the Northern Senators’ Forum.”
“Mr President, sitting as chair, a few people who felt they will not give you more than one year to be in this chair, wants to do everything possible before the 13th of June to remove you.”
Meanwhile, a fresh crisis has rocked the Senator Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe from Cross River North, on Tuesday, said some senators got the total of N500 million each from the 2024 Budget.
Agom-Jarigbe, who commented on the allegations by Ningi, alleged that some Senators are guilty of such practice, adding that some senior senators got N500 million each from the 2024 Appropriation Act.
“If we want to go into this issue, all of us are culpable. Some senators here, so-called senior senators got N500 million each. I am a ranking senator, I didn’t get. Did I go to the press? Most of you got. We don’t have to go into those issues,” he said.
