On Tuesday, the Senate suspended the senator representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District, Abdul Ningi, for three months for alleging that the 2024 budget was padded with N3 trillion.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the suspension of Mr Ningi after it was supported by a majority of senators during a deliberation at the Committee of Whole.
“Senator Ningi is hereby suspended for three months from all activities relating to the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Mr Akpabio said.
The resolution of the upper chamber was sequel to a point of order raised by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Adeola Olamilekan, during the plenary.
Mr Ningi, who is the Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF), recently told BBC Hausa that the lawmakers sought the service of a private auditor and discovered irregularities in the budget.
“Example, we had a budget of N28 trillion but after our thorough checks we found out that it was a budget of N25 trillion. How and where did we get the additional N3 trillion? What are we spending it for?” Mr Ningi told BBC Hausa.
PREMIUM TIMES also exclusively reported that the Northern senators under the aegis of Northern Senators Forum (NSF) confronted the Senate President, Mr Akpabio, and accused him of inserting projects worth N4 trillion in the 2024 budget.
