A coalition of concerned organizations in Bauchi State has criticized Senate President Goodwill Akpabio and demanded his resignation for trying to divert attention from the alleged N3.7 trillion padding of the 2024 budget by framing it as a North-South issue.
According to DAILY POST, the demand for the Senate President’s resignation comes in the wake of the suspension of Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi, who represents Bauchi Central Senatorial District, for his remarks concerning the missing N3.7 trillion from the 2024 budget.
The coalition views Senator Ningi’s suspension as unlawful, rushed, and undemocratic.
Speaking to reporters at the Bauchi State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists’ secretariat on Tuesday, the coalition’s chairman, Umar Sa’id Maigamo, urged the Senate President to step down to allow for a thorough investigation into the budget padding allegations.
Furthermore, they called for an inquiry into the allegation that the Senate leadership provided N500 million to certain senior senators.
His words: “We wish to address all Nigerians on the decision by the Senate over the suspension of Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi, senator representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District. We consider this decision premeditated, hasty, unlawful and undemocratic on several grounds.
“You may wish to recall that Senator Abdul Ningi, in an attempt to exercise his legislative and constitutional rights, granted an interview to the BBC Hausa Service where he raised pertinent issues regarding the 2024 budget. In the said interview, the senator revealed that there were some anomalies in the budget, where he specifically stated that the sum of N3.7 trillion could not be traced to any projects or locations in the 2024 budget.
“Senator Ningi’s assertion was corroborated by several professional groups, including Budgit Foundation, a renowned civil society organisation promoting accountability and transparency in public spending in Nigeria.
“However, in a rare display of injustice and disdain for the rule of law and democratic tenets, the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, at the plenary held on March 12, 2024, announced the suspension of Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi for three months.
“We view this action of the Senate as an attempt not only to conceal the truth but to prevent the senator from exercising his legislative duties and constitutional rights.”
