There is tension among lawmakers in the Senate Committee on Appropriation following the alarm of alleged padding of the 2024 Budget raised by the Chairman, Northern Senators Forum (NSF), Senator Abdul Ningi.
Ningi, who represents Bauchi Central Senatorial District in the red chamber, had while speaking on BBC Hausa Service at the weekend, alleged that the 2024 Budget passed by the National Assembly was inflated to the tune of N3 trillion.
He claimed that what was approved on the floor of the Senate was N25 Trillion, not N28 trillion.
The lawmaker further alleged that budgetary allocations for projects and social infrastructures were skewed against the North, and disclosed that the Forum of Northern Senators had engaged the service of a consultant to look at the budget.
Nigerian Tribune checks revealed that certain members of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, led by Senator Solomon Adeola, held a closed door meeting at the National Assembly on Sunday.
Apart from Senator Adeola, who represents Ogun West and is also the Chairman of the Committee, others sighted at the National Assembly were Senator Ifeanyi Ubah and Senator Lola Ashiru.
A press briefing initially fixed after the closed door meeting was canceled at the last minute after the meeting.
Further checks by Nigerian Tribune revealed that the Senate is set for a stormy session on Tuesday as members of the Appropriation Committee are set for a showdown with Senator Ningi, who sources said will be asked to shed more light on his allegations of inflation of the 2024 Budget.
Crack in Northern Senators Forum?
Investigations revealed that Senator Ningi, who made the allegation of budget padding and marginalisation of the North in the 2024 Budget, would ultimately be left in the lurch by his colleagues in the Northern Senators Forum, as multiple sources revealed that certain principal officers from the North who are lawmakers of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), along with members of the Stability Group loyal to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, are already galvanising support for leadership of the Senate to douse the tension created by Ningi’s allegation.
One of the lawmakers from the North who spoke with Nigerian Tribune in confidence dismissed the claim that the North was shortchanged in the 2024 Budget as alleged by Senator Ningi.
The Senator further alleged that the Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, who incidentally is a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is using his office to fight the ruling party under the guise of trying to protect the interest of the North.
He said: “He has no document to back his allegation of inflation of the budget. His claim that the North is being sidelined in budgetary provisions for social infrastructure holds no water.
“The budget is not a creation of the Senate, but the executive arm of government. The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, is from Kebbi State in North West.
“Go and look at the list of Senate Committee on Appropriation. The North is adequately represented.
“The Appropriation Committees of both chambers of National Assembly looked at the budget before it was passed. The Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Honourable Abubakar Bichi is from the North. Are they saying our people were sleeping or the Minister of Budget did not have input in the budget preparation?”
