Senate President Goodwill Akpabio has accused Bauchi Central Senator, Abdul Ningi, of tarnishing the reputation of the Senate following allegations of budget padding amounting to N3.7 trillion.
Ningi had claimed that projects worth N3.7 trillion in the 2024 Appropriation Act were untraceable, alleging discrepancies between the N25 trillion debated and passed by the National Assembly and the N28.7 trillion implemented by the Federal Government.
However, the Presidency refuted the allegations, and despite the Northern Senators Forum distancing itself from Ningi’s claims, the senator has maintained his stance.
In response, Akpabio challenged Ningi to apologize for the perceived damage his allegations have caused to the Senate’s image.
Addressing the Senate floor, Akpabio clarified that President Buhari presented a N27.5 trillion budget, not the alleged N25 trillion, emphasizing that any additions amounted to only N1.2 trillion.
He said: “I want Nigerians to know what Mr President presented to us in a joint meeting at the end of November 2023 for consideration was N27.5 trillion, so at no time did the President present N25 trillion.
“If there was any addition to the budget, it was N1.2 trillion.
“This is not the speech I expected, I expected a speech of somebody saying I was sorry for being misquoted, the misinterpretation was this.
“But you went back to Arise TV yesterday night to justify your position that you have documents, even now in front of this Senate you claimed to have documents and they are with you.
“No senators or Nigerians know. At the same time, Nigerians are bashing the Senate; most Nigerians will never come back to respect this Senate in the future. The image of this chambers have been totally damaged and we wanted you to repair it with your speech.
“Instead of that, you claimed to have more documents to prove what you are saying.”
