The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday suspended Abdul Ningi, a senator representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District, over the budget padding allegation levelled against the leadership of the red chamber.
In an interview with BBC Hausa during the weekend, Ningi, the chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, claimed that the 2024 budget was padded and that President Bola Tinubu is currently implementing two different budgets.
He said, “For the first time in Nigerian history, today we are operating two different budgets. One budget was approved by the National Assembly and signed by President Bola Tinubu and the one was implemented by the presidency.
Read also: Senate suspends Ningi for three months over budget padding claims
“The one approved by us is N25tn while the one operated by the Federal Government is N28tn.
“Apparently, we discovered ₦3tn was inserted into the budgets for projects without locations. This is the highest budget padding that happened in Nigerian history under Senator Akpabio’s watch.”
The interview generated a lot of controversy as senators and the presidency countered the claim made by Ningi.
But, who is Abdul Ningi?
Born on April 20, 1960, the lawmaker is serving his second term as a senator, representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District in the 10th National Assembly. He represents his district under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Ningi first came into the National Assembly in 1999 as a member of the House of Representatives, representing the Ningi Federal Constituency. In 2003 and 2007, he was also re-elected to represent his constituents.
During this period, he served on various committees and was also the House majority leader from 2003 to 2007. Subsequently, he moved to the Senate in 2011, where he served as the Senate deputy majority leader under the PDP.
Earlier in his political career, in 1984, he was appointed by the Bauchi State Government as a social welfare officer. By 1986, he rose to the rank of secretary of the Bauchi Rent.
After a stint in the private sector, he returned to politics in 1996 and contested for a seat in the Bauchi State Assembly under the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) platform and won. However, the Abacha-led government cancelled the elections.
Until his resignation on Tuesday, Ningi was the chairman of the Northern Senators’ Forum.
