At a rowdy session on Tuesday, the Senate has approved the suspension on Senator Abdul Ningi for three months.
His offence is the inability to prove an allegation that the Senate appproved two different budgets after consideration of the 2024 Appropriations.
Ningi is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Population and represents PDP, Bauchi Central.
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio who described Ningi’s offence as “grievous”, conducted a voice vote during which most of the lawmakers voted in support of Ningi’s suspension for three months.
While the parties called for a probe into the allegation, some northern senators disowned the claims made by Ningi, saying the Bauchi State senator did not speak for them.
Senator Ningi had accused the National Assembly of padding the 2024 budget, claiming the country was running two Appropriation Acts.
During an interview with the BBC Hausa service, Senator Ningi had alleged that the Executive arm is running two budgets with N3.7tn yet to be accounted for.
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Irked by the comment, the Senate during plenary, demanded answers from Senator Ningi over his remarks.
Before the plenary, Senator Olamileken Adeola had demanded an open session.
“No closed door, let’s do it open,” the Ogun West lawmaker said.
When the plenary began, Senator Adeola moved a motion for that matter to be investigated.
While seconding the motion, Senator Joel-Onowakpo Thomas, Delta South, criticized Ningi’s comments, saying the remark was “not only presumptuous, but it is also scandalous and an attempt to incite the public against the National Assembly.”
He said the matter must be investigated to “save the integrity of the Senate and my integrity because all eyes are on us.”
Senator Adamu Aliero, however, told Akpabio to ensure a fair hearing on the matter by letting Ningi tell his side of the story.
The Senate President said: “Nigerians are bashing the Senate. Many Nigerians will never in future come back to respect this chamber. The integrity of this chamber has been damaged and we wanted you to repair it with your speech.
“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.
“Social media is very fast. From Canada, the United States, everywhere, the story was about budget padding by the Senate,” he lamented.
However Senator Nengi told lawmakers that he never said that the 2024 budget was padded, describing the translation of the interview as fake.
“I have never said somebody was blinded. Secondly, I have never said the budget was padded,” the PDP Senator told his colleagues.
“Let me concur with about 80 percent of the translation read out by Senator Yayi. I think they have done a fair job, except on some issues they could not understand.
“The beginning of this brouhaha started with this text. Senator Abdu Ningi is purported to be the author of this document. Let me for the avoidance of doubt, I have never made this statement to anybody anywhere and anytime.
“I want members of this Senate to record it, this is a fake observation that was forwarded, I do not know the author of this.”
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