The Nigerian Senate faces public odium over allegations of budget padding, N500 million largesse for more equal ranking Senators, N21 billion Constituency project for its President Godswill Akpabio, as well as the suspension of the man at the centre of the brouhaha, Senator Abdul Ningi
By Udoka Ekeleme, Abuja
Again, the 10th Senate of the Federal Republic is at the centre of another image denting controversy. The Senate, under a controversial President, Godswill Akpabio, has remained mired in various controversies that have turned it into a laughing stock in the eyes and estimation of the Nigerian public and beyond.
First, many Nigerians regard Akpabio as not qualified to lead the 10th Senate as its president due to the controversy that surrounded his “selection” into the Red Chamber. Akpabio never contested in the primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for a senatorial poll because he contested in the presidential primary of the party where he surrendered his ambition to Bola Ahmed Tinubu. But in a twist that still baffles many political analysts, the apex court in the land, the Supreme Court, was to magically declare Akpabio the winner of his Senatorial Zone’s primary ticket to the chagrin of numerous Nigerians.
Secondly, Senator Akpabio’s personality smells alleged corruption all over, both as a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, and former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs. Akpabio has no reputation among Nigerians across the six geopolitical zones, even as he is still in the wanted list of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) till date.
Since Akpabio became the Senate President of the 10th National Assembly, most of his actions and decisions smack deceit, and have elicited public odium and public outcry. Indeed, Nigerians, numerous Nigerians, are taken aback as to how such an alleged highly corrupt politician could be allowed to become the 10th Senate President. Pundits, however, unanimously agree that whatever powers that made Akpabio to occupy the exalted number three citizen’s seat, remains the main albatross of Nigeria’s political system.
As the President of the Senate, two of Akpabio’s previous unpopular outings sold him out as an unpatriotic citizen. The prayers he sent to Senators’ mail boxes as their recess allowance, and the decision of the Senate leadership to purchase Toyota Prado Jeeps for all the Senators at the cost of N160 million per unit of the SUV, last year, soiled the reputation of the 10th Senate in the minds of the Nigerian masses.
Having lost its credibility under Akpabio presidency, the 10th Senate is, once again, enmeshed in an alleged budget padding scandal that has dragged its image to the mud. The Senate, since Monday, March 11, 2024, has been struggling to wriggle out of the budget padding scandal which was escalated by Senator Abdul Ningi since Saturday, March 9, 2024.
Senator Ningi who represents Bauchi Central Senatorial Zone, alleged that the 2024 national budget was padded with over N3.7 billion in the National Assembly.
The audacious Ningi made the allegation during an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) network of the Hausa Service, adding that the Northern Senators were expected to meet with President Tinubu and Akpabio to resolve the contentious padding issue and other issues of Northern Nigeria interest.
Ningi: “We have engaged consultants to review the budget for us. We have some experts that are working on it line by line.
“We have seen the huge damage that was done not only to the North, but the entire country in that budget. We are supposed to sit with the Senate President to inform him about what we have observed.
“We want to show him what we have seen in the budget that is not acceptable, we will not accept them, and we don’t want the country to continue spending money on those things.
“Apart from what the National Assembly did on the floor, there was another budget that was done underground which we didn’t know.
“The new things we have discovered in the budget were not known to us. We have seen them in the budget that was debated and considered on the floor of the National Assembly.
“For example, we had a budget of N28 trillion, but after our checks, we found out that it was a budget of N25 trillion. How and where did we get the additional N3 trillion from, what are we spending it for?”
The Presidency on Sunday, March 10, 2024 denied the allegation that President Bola Tinubu was implementing a budget different from what the National Assembly passed, saying that the N1.2 trillion differentials was added by the lawmakers.
The Presidency also debunked the insinuation that the 2024 budget being implemented by President Tinubu is anti-North.
The denials were contained in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, titled, “The Facts About 2024 Budget.”
The presidential spokesperson, Onanuga, said President Tinubu is leading a government that is fair and equitable to every part and segment of Nigeria. He also added that in terms of funding, distribution of capital and priority projects, the 2024 Appropriation Act was not skewed against any section of the country.
He further explained that the North as an integral part of the country is well covered in all areas, from security to agriculture, healthcare to education, and other important infrastructure such as roads, rail, dams, power and irrigation projects to support all year-round agriculture.
Onanuga: “Following the false claims made by Senator Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi Central, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government is operating two versions of the 2024 budget, we consider it appropriate to inform Nigerians that there is no truth whatsoever in the allegation.
“Acting under the banner of Northern Senators’ Forum, Senator Ningi, falsely claimed in an interview he granted BBC Hausa Service, that the National Assembly debated and passed N25 Trillion as 2024 budget and not the N28.7 Trillion that is being implemented by the Federal Government.
“To begin with, President Tinubu on November 29, 2023 presented a budget of N27.5 Trillion to the joint session of the National Assembly made up of N9.92 Trillion recurrent expenditure, Debt Service N8.25 Trillion and Capital Expenditure N8.7 Trillion.
“This was widely reported. He did not present a budget of N25 Trillion. “Contrary to the strange view expressed by Senator Ningi, there was no way the Senate could have debated and passed a N25 Trillion budget that was not presented to the National Assembly.
“We don’t expect a ranking Senator not to pay due attention to details before making wild claims.
“It is also important to let Nigerians know that the budget that President Tinubu signed into law on January 1, 2024 as passed by the National Assembly was N28.7 Trillion.
“The National Assembly, in its wisdom, increased the amount proposed by the Executive by N1.2 Trillion.
“In the spirit of democracy which allows give and take, President Tinubu didn’t withhold his assent to the Appropriation Bill as passed by the National Assembly. We want to stress that if the budget figure was increased and made to be different from what the Executive proposed, it was the National Assembly that jacked it up in exercise of its power of appropriation.
“On the uncharitable claim that the 2024 budget was anti-North, we found such position as canvassed by Senator Ningi as too far-fetched and unbecoming of a leader of his status.
“President Tinubu is leading a government that is fair and equitable to every part and segment of Nigeria. In terms of funding, distribution of capital and priority projects, the 2024 Appropriation Act was not skewed against any section of the country.
“The North as an integral part of the country is well covered in all areas, from security to agriculture, healthcare to education, and other important infrastructure such as roads, rail, dams, power and irrigation projects to support all year-round agriculture.”
“President Tinubu is a firm believer in the rule of law and constitutional democracy. As an avowed democrat, he will not engage and indulge in any unconstitutional action or act in any manner that assaults the Constitution of Nigeria by operating any budget outside the one approved by the National Assembly, which he dutifully signed into law.
“We want to state categorically that the only 2024 budget that is being implemented is the N28.7 Trillion budget passed by the National Assembly and signed by the President.
“Included in the budget are statutory transfers to the Judiciary, National Assembly, Tetfund and others.”
Before the plenary of the Senate on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, Ningi had been left in the cold by his colleagues in the Northern Senators Forum, where he was the Chairman.
Many senators from the three geopolitical zones in the North disowned Ningi’s claim on the inflation of the 2024 budget estimate on Monday, March 11, 2024, as well as the perceived Tinubu’s marginalisation of the North in the distribution of projects.
Even as the embattled former Deputy Senate Leader clarified on Monday, March 11 at a media briefing that he did not speak as Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum in his controversial weekend interview with BBC Hausa Service, some of his colleagues issued a statement on the same Monday dismissing his observations as misleading and not on behalf of the Forum.
Those who signed the statement included Senators Iyal Abass and Ibrahim Bomoi from the North East. Others are Senators Abdul Aziz Yar’ Adua and Lawan Adamu Usman; from the north-west are the duo of Senators Jibrin Isah, Dikat Plang, and Saliu Mustapha from the north-central.
The lawmakers said, “Senator Ahmed Abdul Ningi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bauchi Central Senatorial District, who also happens to be the chairman of our forum, was on his own in the claims he made on the BBC Hausa Service on the 2024 budget. As such, the view he expressed was his personal opinion, sentiment, and unfortunately, skewed, incorrect, and misleading.”
The statement entitled, “There’s no wrongdoing in the 2024 budget; Northern Senators dissociate themselves from Senator Ningi’s padding allegation,” reads in part: “We, the undersigned, on behalf of the Senators from the 19 Northern States and the FCT, under the aegis of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF), hereby state that Senator Ahmed Abdul Ningi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bauchi Central Senatorial District, who also happens to be the chairman of our forum, was on his own in the claims he made on the BBC Hausa Service on the 2024 budget. As such, the view he expressed was his personal opinion and sentiment and was 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.
“That the budget was presented to the National Assembly during a joint session of the two chambers—the Senate and House of Representatives—by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on November 29, 2023, in line with the requirements of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“That both chambers of the National Assembly diligently and meticulously debated, processed, and passed the proposal of the President. And satisfied with it, the president agreed to it.
“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.
“To the best of our 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 unparliamentary.
“That, we, the Northern Senators, are solidly behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and we will continue to support him to succeed in addressing the challenges facing our country. Nigeria, at this particular moment, does not need ethnic sentiments but collaborations of all kinds to bring prosperity to our beloved country, the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“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.”
On Tuesday, March 12, Senator Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe, representing Cross River North alleged that some more equal ranking senators had as much as N500 million imputed for them in the budget as Constituency Project Allowance. Accusing the Senate leadership of bias in the unjustified and unfair allocation of Constituency Projects in the 2024 Appropriation Act, Agom-Jarigbe said, “All of us are culpable. Some so-called senior Senators here got N500 million each from the 2024 budget, I am a ranking Senator, I didn’t get anything. No Senator has a right to accuse Senator Ningi.”
With that bombshell, Senator Agom-Jarigbe, shook the table and blew the lid off the alleged misappropriation and abuse of public funds by public officers, confirming fears of many Nigerians that the National Assembly might have become a ‘Hallowed Chamber of Corruption.’
Expectedly, Tuesday’s reconvening of the Red Chamber was to be a heated session after the disclosure by Senator Ningi, then Chairman of the Northern Senators’ Forum (NSF) representing Bauchi Central, that the 2024 budget was padded to the tune of over N3.7 trillion.
It took the quick intervention of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who re-enacted his infamous ‘off your mic’ jibe to rule the Cross River lawmaker out of order. But the revelation from Agom-Jarigbe that some senators were given N500 million as palliatives for their constituents, while others got N200 million, reinforced Ningi’s claims.
The Senate was immediately thrown into a rowdy session following the revelation of uneven distribution of the Federal Government’s palliatives to senators for onward disbursement to their constituents, a repeat of the rice palliatives from President Bola Tinubu to Senators for the 2023 Christmas.
There at the Senate rowdy session of Tuesday, it was discovered that the Senate President, Akpabio had an allocation of about N21 billion as his own Constituency Project Fund. The revelation has been raising questions among a cross section of Nigerians as to what Senator Akpabio intends to do with such huge amount.
There was also the revelation that certain huge allocations in the budget have no specific projects attached to them, a revelation that has since confirmed Ningi’s claims. The business of the day began with the Red Chamber debating the allegation by Ningi during an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hausa Service. Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, representing Ogun West, had angrily stormed the chamber at about 11.00 a.m. saying, “No closed door, let’s do it open.”
He raised Orders 9, 10, 41 and 51 to move the motion of privilege and issue of national importance against Ningi over the interview, disclosing that the budget passed by the National Assembly for the 2024 fiscal year is N25 trillion while the one being implemented by the Presidency is N28.7 trillion.
Following a motion sponsored by Senator Ibrahim Jimoh (APC, Ondo South), Ningi was served the Abdulmumin Jibril treatment – a suspension from the Senate for three months. Similar to the 2017 suspension Jibril, the Kano House of Representatives member got for raising the dust over padded budget during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
After extensive deliberation lasting over three hours, Ibrahim moved a motion that Ningi be suspended for 12 months. Still, the motion was amended by Senator Asququo Ekpeyong (APC, Cross River South) that the punishment be reduced to six months. Senator Garba Maidoki (PDP, Kebbi South) then moved that Ningi be suspended for three months or that an apology be accepted if he wrote to the Senate within 24 hours. He was seconded by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), whose motion the Senate eventually adopted.
The Majority Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, claimed that some senators were planning to impeach Akpabio before July 2024. Bamidele said this during the debate that the 2024 budget was padded by N3 trillion.
While speaking, Bamidele, the senator representing Ekiti Central, said the allegation made by Ningi is “tantamount” to a “civilian coup” against Akpabio. The majority leader said the Bauchi senator wanted to use the platform of the Northern Senators’ Forum to execute the “civilian coup.”
He further stated that a few senators have refused to work with Akpabio after he was elected the senate president on July 13, 2023.
“I stand to say that, what my big brother, distinguished Senator Ningi, who I respect so well, planned to do was tantamount to a civilian coup, which has failed,” Bamidele said.
