Following the suspension of Senator Abdul Ningi, the Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro, on Wednesday said the upper chamber is having some credibility problems.
Ningi had in an interview with BBC Hausa alleged that the Senate padded the 2024 budget to the tune of N3.7 trillion. He also claimed that the Federal Government is operating two versions of the 2024 budget and that the N28.7 trillion Budget passed and signed into law by President Bola Tinubu was skewed against the North.
The situation forced the Red Chamber under the leadership of Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday to suspend Senator Abdul Ningi.
A day after the incident, Senator Moro who represents Benue South in the National Assembly, said the situation has made the upper chamber face an integrity test.
The budget in question was passed by the senators. Senator Ningi is a senator, he was a member of the Appropriation Committee. I am from the north and he purported to speak for the north,” he said.
“Why I was angry is that Senator Kawu Sumaila who is the spokesperson of the Northern Senators Forum came before me and said that he was going to address the press on this same matter while the debate was going on.
“I said, ‘You don’t do that. You raised issues, we are tackling the issues and here you are, you want to address the press, go ahead and address the press.’ That was why I raised my hands because as a minority leader, Senator Kawu Sumaila is a member of the NNPP, he is within me and signed for me to be a minority leader.
“So why would he not accept my advice? As people have commented now, the Senate is already having some level of credibility problems. Why would an individual arrogate to himself the power to know it all, say it all.”
Moro also defended the action of the Senate leadership, saying it did the right thing in Ningi’s matter.
‘I think the Senate did the appropriate thing, I was there. Budget padding may not be mentioned here now in the 10th Senate because previous budgets have been criticised based on budget padding.
“But this is the first time a participant senator who was honestly engaged in the whole process is coming out to say that what I did was wrong and rubbing it on all of us. I think it is not correct.”
He faulted Ningi’s action, recalling how the Northern Senators Forum had an audience with the Senate President in which Kawu and Ningi were in attendance.
BAUCHI GOV’s SUPPORT
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has declared that the state government is behind Senator Abdul Ningi, the lawmaker who was handed a three-month suspension after his comment on N3.7 trillion not being traceable in the 2024 budget.
Speaking during the State Executive Council meeting at the Government House, Bauchi, on Wednesday, Mohammed said, “yesterday I was very sad the Senate suspended one of our best from Bauchi for saying the truth, for standing up to be the beacon of the truth.”
Mohammed, who is also the chairman PDP Governors’ Forum, said, “Equally I don’t know what we will do but we will discuss privately to see what we can do to support him because I support whatever he is doing and that is our best position especially if what he saying is the truth,”
