The Senate, led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, took action on Tuesday by suspending Senator Abdul Ningi for three months over accusations of inflating the 2024 Budget by N3.7 trillion.
Ningi, who represents Bauchi Central Senatorial District, received the suspension after a heated session in the Senate.
Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, a member of the Appropriation Committee, initially proposed a 12-month suspension for Ningi due to allegations of spreading false information and causing disruption in the National Assembly and the country as a whole.
However, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong from Cross River South Senatorial District, and Senator Abdulfatai Buhari from Oyo North, suggested amending the motion, with Ekpenyong proposing a six-month suspension and Buhari proposing a three-month suspension.
Akpabio, who deemed Ningi’s actions as serious, held a voice vote where the majority of the senators voted in favor of a three-month suspension.
In an interview, Ningi claimed that there were two versions of the 2024 budget being operated by the Federal Government, with the N28.7 trillion budget passed and signed into law by President Bola Tinubu being biased against the North.
This sparked backlash from other senators and the Presidency, who deemed his claims as unrealistic and unbecoming of a leader.
Ningi later retracted his statement about two budgets but maintained that N25 trillion of the budget was allocated to specific projects while N3.7 trillion had no project attached to it.
On Monday, Ningi stated that he was prepared to face the consequences, even if it meant being suspended from the Senate.
