Senate on Rampage As Sen Jarigbe Accuses Senior Lawmakers of Getting N500m Each

• The controversies surrounding the budget padding claims made by Senator Abdul Ningi have taken a new turn
• At the Tuesday, March 11 plenary session, the matter was brought to the fore again for deliberations
• Things got heated at the penultimate stages of the deliberation, leading to Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe's claim that older senators should receive N500 million each

Legit.ng journalist Segun Adeyemi has over 9 years of experience covering political events, civil societies, courts, and metro

FCT, Abuja - The Senate is currently engaged in a heated discussion concerning allegations that the 2024 budget was inflated by N3 trillion.

The debate was sparked by a motion presented by Solomon Adeola, the senator for Ogun West, who argued that his rights as a senator were breached.

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Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi Central, further fueled the controversy over the weekend by stating that the budget has caused considerable damage to the nation overall.

The legislative body approved a budget totalling N28.7 trillion for the 2024 fiscal year.

Despite President Bola Tinubu's initial proposal of N27.5 trillion, lawmakers increased it by N1.2 trillion.

A senator from Ogun West expressed dissatisfaction, claiming his involvement in the budgeting process was disregarded.

Senator Adeola said:

“Ningi has maintained that N3 trillion in the budget was not linked to anything.

“My privilege has been breached because I was one of those who participated in the preparation of the budget. With what has transpired in the last three days, my privilege has been breached.”

The allegation

Ningi had an opportunity to present evidence supporting his position, asserting the existence of documents verifying the irregularity.

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However, the situation escalated rapidly in the upper legislative chamber as Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe, representing Cross River North, alleged that certain "older senators" had allocated N500 million in the budget for constituency projects, sparking chaos.

Jarigbe said:

“Let us wash our dirty linen in public.

“Did you see me go to the media."

Senate suspends Senator Ningi

The Nigerian Senate has temporarily removed Senator Abdul Ningi from his duties for three months due to accusations of tampering with the 2024 budget.

Initially, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim proposed a 12-month suspension for Ningi, but this was amended to three months.

This was due to the follow-up motion by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong and input from other lawmakers.

Source: Legit.ng