N3trn Budget Padding: More Northern Senators Tackle Ningi

More senators from the 19 northern states have disassociated themselves from the claims by their chairman, Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi South) that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is running two separate national budgets.

The senators are Aliyu Iyal Abbas (Adamawa Central), Ibrahim Bono (Yobe), Abdulaziz Yar’Adua (Katsina) Lawal Adamu Usman (Kaduna), Jibrin Isa (Kogi), Diket Plang (Plateau) and Saliu Mustapha (Kwara).

The seven senators followed three others – Sunday Karimi, Titus Tartenger Zam and Kaka Shehu – who had on Monday picked holes in Ningi’s claims.

The seven senators, who claimed to speak on behalf of the senators from the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said Ningi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bauchi Central Senatorial District, who also happens to be the chairman of their forum, did not speak for them.

“The view he expressed was his personal opinion, sentiment and unfortunately skewed, incorrect and misleading.

“There was never a time where we held a meeting and mandated Senator Ningi to address the press on the said matter,” the Senators said, adding that the budget was presented to the National Assembly during a joint session of the two chambers – Senate and House of Representatives – by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on November 29, 2023, in line with the requirement of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

According to the senators, both chambers of the National Assembly diligently and meticulously debated, processed and passed the proposal of the president, which he assented to.

“It is clear that Mr President presented a budget of N27. 5 trillion to the National Assembly and the Assembly passed a budget of N28.7 trillion based on the need to make increases or decreases in the appropriations of the various MDAs, which is in tandem with the legislative powers of the National Assembly, in order to address critical projects and services across various sectors. Therefore, the statement made by Senator Ningi that the 2024 budget presented to the National Assembly by Mr President was the sum of N25 trillion was not correct and that should not be taken as the position of the Northern Senators’ Forum,” the lawmakers said.

According to them, to the best of their 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 Northern Senators. Hence, we strongly and collectively dissociate ourselves from his action which was grossly un-parliamentary.”

The Northern senators declared their continued support for President Tinubu in addressing the challenges facing the country, adding that the present situation of Nigeria does not need ethnic sentiments but collaborations of all to bring prosperity to the nation.

“We will continue to work with our brothers and sisters from the southern part of the country to move our country forward for the benefit of all and sundry,” the group added.