The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project is asking the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, to reinstate Senator Abdul Ningi who was suspended for three months after accusing the National Assembly of budget padding.
Ningi, the representative for Bauchi Central, was suspended for three months because of an interview where he claimed that the National Assembly inflated the 2024 budget from N25 trillion to N28.7 trillion.
He said, “Today, for the first time in Nigerian history, we have two different budgets. One budget was approved by the National Assembly and signed by President Bola Tinubu, and the other one was implemented by the presidency.
“The budget we passed was N25 trillion while the one being used by the Federal Government is N28 trillion.”
Two days after stepping down as the Chairman of the Northern Senators’ Forum, Ningi was replaced by Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua (APC Katsina Central).
In a statement dated March 16, 2024, and made available to PUNCH Online on Sunday, March 17; and signed by SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the group urged Akpabio “to immediately reinstate whistleblower Abdul Ningi who was recently suspended from the Senate over his allegations that the lawmakers padded the 2024 budget by irregularly inserting projects worth N3.7 trillion.”
SERAP also told the Senate President to refer the allegation to the country’s anti-corruption agencies – the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Crimes Commission, which would improve public trust in the Senate.
The statement requested that Akpabio should “urgently refer the allegations that lawmakers padded the 2024 budget by irregularly inserting projects worth N3.7 trillion to appropriate anti-corruption agencies for investigation and prosecution.
“Referring these allegations to appropriate anticorruption agencies would be consistent with the lawmakers’ oath of office and the letter and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended).”
Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, on Monday, expressed full support for Ningi during the State Executive Council meeting, saying, “I made it clear that I stand firm in our support for Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi, of Bauchi Central.”
Meanwhile, SERAP followed suit, saying, “What Senator Ningi has done is a positive act of good citizenship. No whistleblower should ever be penalised simply for making a public interest disclosure.”
SERAP also urged Akpabio “to make a public commitment to discontinue the patently unlawful constituency projects in the next budget cycle.”
The statement continued, “Without inside information, corruption is hard to detect, prevent, and combat. Rather than suspending Senator Ningi, the Senate ought to have used his allegations as a trigger for addressing the lingering problem of budget padding and corruption in the implementation of constituency projects.
“Referring the allegations to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would improve public trust in the ability of the leadership of the Senate to ensure probity and accountability in the budget process.
“We would appreciate it if the suggested actions are taken within 7 days of receiving and/or publishing this letter. If we don't hear from you by then, SERAP will consider using legal means to force you and the Senate to follow our requests in the public's interest.”
The organization has shown its worry “about the lack of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds for constituency projects since the start of democracy in 1999.
“SERAP is very worried that years of accusations of manipulating budgets and corruption in carrying out constituency projects have helped cause widespread poverty, underdevelopment, and lack of access to public services.”
