Politics

N500m ‘Largesse’: “I received N266m” Abaribe, Ndume Confess after Ningi’s Budget Padding Claim

Updated Thursday, March 14, 2024 at 7:19 PM by Esther Odili

Two Nigerian senators have weighed in on the claims made by the suspended Senator Abdul Ningi
Senator Enyinnaya Harcourt Abaribe said he got N266 million from the N500m ‘Largesse’ while Ali Ndume claimed he got more than N200 million
This came after Ningi was accused of criminal misinformation and breach of peace in the National Assembly and was suspended for three months over allegations of padding in the 2024 budget

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Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

FCT, Abuja - On Wednesday, March 13, the senator representing Abia South, Enyinnaya Harcourt Abaribe, said contrary to the claim that some ranking senators received N500 million from the 2024 budget, he had only received N266 million.

Senator Abaribe said he got N266 million

A federal lawmaker representing Cross River North, Senator Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe, said during plenary on Tuesday, March 12, that some senior senators had received N500 million each from the 2024 budget.

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The revelation came on the heels of an ongoing controversy over an allegation of budget padding by Senator Abdul Ningi in an interview with BBC Hausa.

Reacting to the development, during a chat with Arise TV, Senator Abaribe said Ningi knew it was a mistake to claim what he could not prove because he was not a new member in the Senate, Daily Trust reported.

Abaribe added that despite being a senior senator, he had not received the N500 million alleged by Jarigbe.

He said:

"I never got 500 million. I think Jarigbe tried to clarify his statement. He came back subsequently to say, ‘No, Ningi told me I was given’, because he didn’t get. He’s also a ranking Senator."

Senator Ndume said he got over N200m

In a similar move, Senate Chief Whip Ali Ndume, on Wednesday, March 13, said as a principal officer in the 10th National Assembly, he got more than the N200m allocation his colleagues and floor members got for constituency projects in the 2024 Appropriation Act.

The senator from Borno South senatorial district said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme:

“My colleagues know that I got more than them (floor members).”

Asked whether the claim by Agom-Jarigbe was true, Ndume said:

"It’s disparity now, we are not the same; all animals are equal but some are more equal than the other. That’s what the case is. They have agreed to that."

Bauchi Gov backs Ningi, faults Senate’s suspension

Meanwhile, Bauchi Governor Bala Mohammed affirmed the state government's support for Senator Abdul Ningi following his three-month suspension by the Senate.