Why Nigerian Senate Suspended Ningi For Three Months
The Nigerian Senate, during a plenary session on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, announced the suspension of Senator Abdul Ningi for three months over his claims that N3.7 trillion in the 2024 budget was not tied to any project.
Ningi, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Population representing Bauchi Central, had alleged in an interview he granted to BBC Hausa that N3.7 trillion in the 2024 Appropriation Act was not tied to any project or location, sparking speculation and interpretation that the budget was padded and that the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu was implementing two budgets.
In a chat with Senate correspondents yesterday, the Senator, while insisting that the disclosed amount was not tied to any project, clarified that “at no time did I say Bola Ahmed Tinubu is implementing two budgets.”
“I said we have established without reasonable doubt about 25 trillion so far as a nexus in the budget. That means there is money, and then there is a project and then there is a location. Money, project, location, but we are yet to ascertain three trillion of that budget. We have established three trillion in the budget; we have not established its location and place,” he said.
His alleged discovery has sparked a mixed reaction among the populace, many of whom feel the cost of governance is high amid the soaring high cost of living. However, in the Senate floor, Ningi fell out with some of his colleagues with Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, an Appropriation Committee member in the Senate, calling for Ningi to be charged “for criminal misinformation, and conduct likely to breach the peace of the country.”
During Tuesday’s plenary session, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, an APC Senator representing Ogun West, raised a motion for Ningi’s ‘false allegation’ to be addressed.
Subsequently, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim proposed an amendment to suspend Ningi for 12 months and recommended a warning for Senator Sumaila Kawu. However, Senator Chris Ekpeyong opposed this, suggesting a reduction of the suspension to six months, which was seconded. Senator Garba Maidoki further amended the motion, proposing a three-month suspension for Ningi.
Following a voice vote on the amended motion, Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced Ningi’s suspension from the Senate for a period of three months. Ningi was then escorted out of the Senate chamber by a Sergeant-at-arms.
