Ali Ndume, the Senate Chief Whip, revealed that he cautioned the suspended Bauchi Central Senator, Abdul Ningi, regarding allegations of budget padding amounting to N3.7 trillion. Ndume stated that he had advised Ningi after being informed about the alleged budget padding, but Ningi did not heed the warning.
The Senate subsequently suspended Ningi for three months following deliberations on the raised allegations. However, speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Ndume explained that when Ningi initially approached him with the matter, he had urged Ningi to provide evidence, which Ningi failed to do.
Ndume criticized Ningi for politicizing and ethnically framing the 2024 budget, asserting that such actions were inappropriate.
Ndume said: “I sat next to the Senate Leader (Opeyemi Bamidele), he was very angry about what Ningi did, but honestly me too. What he (Ningi) did was wrong because I was involved.
“In the first instance, it started when they said capital projects were skewed to the South. The total in that budget that was brought before us by the President was not up to N9 trillion, it was N8.9trn and they are talking of skewed capital projects to the South and the total adding up to N15 trillion.
“That N15 trillion is strange, even with the amendment that we made, the capital component of this budget is not up to that.
“I told him he was wrong. I had even warned him when he brought the issue to me. I had told him to get a consultant to analyze the budget. But he refused to listen to me.”
