Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has expressed concern over the damage to the integrity of the Senate following the controversy stirred by Senator Abdul Ningi’s recent interview.
Senator Ningi alleged in an interview with BBC Hausa that the National Assembly passed a budget of N25 trillion for 2024, in contrast to the N28.7 trillion being implemented by the federal government.
During an open session on the Senate floor, Akpabio lamented the negative perception of the Senate by Nigerians, emphasizing that the chamber has been subjected to ridicule.
He criticized Ningi for his statements and subsequent follow-up interviews, stating that they have further damaged the Senate’s reputation.
Akpabio stated, “Nigerians are bashing the Senate. Many Nigerians will never in future come back to respect this chamber. The integrity of this chamber has been totally damaged and we wanted you to repair it with your speech.
“Instead of that, you said you have more documents to prove what you are saying. This thing is in the public glare. I have not received full details up to this moment. If you had given me full details, I would have been able to know what you know.
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“So far, what you know is only known to you, it is not known to any other person. I don’t know how you rushed to the press carrying different versions. The social media is very fast. From Canada, the United States, everywhere, the story was budget padding by the Senate.
“I can quote a section of the Premium Times that said ‘this is the highest level of budget padding in Nigeria’s history where the budget passed a budget of N25 trillion but what we collect was N28 trillion.”
The senate president recalled that Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented a budget proposal of N27.5 trillion to the National Assembly last November.
