Budget Padding: President Tinubu, Akpabio, Others Meet In Aso Rock After Senator Ningi’s Suspension

In the wake of Senator Ningi’s suspension over allegations of budget padding, President Bola Tinubu has convened a meeting with Senate representatives, headed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, at the State House.

Earlier reports from SK Blog indicated that the Senate had suspended Senator Abdul Ningi for three months due to allegations of budget padding. Senator Ningi, representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District under the banner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), recently claimed that the 2024 Budget had been padded to the tune of ₦3.7 trillion.

This assertion by Senator Ningi sparked public outcry, with the lawmaker insisting that the current budget being implemented differs significantly from the one passed by the National Assembly. He alleged that there are discrepancies amounting to ₦3.7 trillion between the two versions of the budget.

In an interview with BBC Hausa Service, Ningi accused President Tinubu’s administration of executing a budget larger than the one approved by the National Assembly. He reiterated that the budget debated and passed amounted to ₦25 trillion, not the ₦28.7 trillion currently being implemented.

However, the Presidency, through a statement by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, refuted Senator Ningi’s claims. Onanuga clarified that President Tinubu presented a budget of ₦27.5 trillion to the joint session of the National Assembly on November 29, 2023, comprising ₦9.92 trillion for recurrent expenditure, ₦8.25 trillion for debt service, and ₦8.7 trillion for capital expenditure.