By Louis Achi
Democracy would lose its defining egalitarianism if it foreclosed the free expression of viewpoints by its adherents – not the least – experienced, ranking legislators. Against this backdrop, senior citizens who deploy discipline and intellectual honesty to achieve that delicate, firm balance between views that enlighten and lift society in contrast with contrived commentary that distorts and diminishes should be appreciated.
The downside of this scenario – the curious intolerance of free expression of a pertinent viewpoint – played out on March 12, 2024, when the Senate churlishly suspended Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP-Bauchi Central) for three months on March 12 over his allegation of padding of the 2024 national budget.
Senator Abdul Ningi, chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, until recently, served as the House Majority Leader of the Nigerian House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007 and was a member of the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2011. As Deputy Majority Leader, Abdul Ningi was a principal officer of the Nigerian Senate, until his recent falling out with the Senate
Of considerable puzzle was that this unprecedented action by the Senate was watched by Northern Senators who constitute voting majority in the Red Chambers without opposing the humiliation of a ranking Senator from the region. Curiously, the upper chamber neither gave Senator Ningi the floor to explain himself, nor provide facts why they think his claims were frivolous. They simply suspended him for three months.
The scenario playing out suggest that the Northern Senate Caucus sold out to both President Ahmed bola Tinubu and Senate President Godswill Akpabio. It’s no secret that President Tinubu installed the senate president who must be politically beholden to him.
It could be recalled that Ningi was suspended after about three hours of debate in Senate plenary over his interview in which he alleged that the National Assembly padded the 2024 N28.7tn budget. Senator Olamilekan Adeola had come under Orders 9, 10, 41, and 51 to move a motion of privilege and issue of purported national importance against Senator Ningi over his earlier interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (Hausa Service).
Senator Ningi had, in the interview, alleged that the budget passed by the National Assembly for the 2024 fiscal year is N25tn while the one being implemented by the Presidency is N28.7tn. He was quoted as saying that, “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.
His words: “The one approved by us is ₦25tn while the one operating by the Federal Government is ₦28tn. Apparently, we discovered ₦3tn was inserted into the budget for projects without locations. This is the highest budget padding that happened in Nigerian history under Senator Akpabio’s watch.”
Ningi, also at a subsequent press conference, said that N3tn was left unaccounted for in the 2024 budget. The BBC interview generated a lot of controversy as senators and the presidency attempted to counter the claim made by Ningi.
It could be recalled that while reluctantly signing the 2018 Budget, then President Muhammadu Buhari accused the National Assembly of ‘padding’ it by introducing 6,403 projects of their own amounting to N578 billion. He grumbled that the insertions “relate to matters that are the responsibility of the states and local governments, and for which the Federal Government should therefore not be unduly burdened.”
T could also be recalled that Buhari again wailed openly while signing the 2022 Budget, revealing that 6,576 new projects had been smuggled into it by the National Assembly.
According to Buhari then, “many of these new projects introduced by the National Assembly have been added to the budgets of most MDAs with no consideration for institutional capacity to execute them or the incremental recurrent expenditure that may be required.” In effect, the new insertions were, basically, duplications, yet the funds are approved.
The former president had clarified that, “The logic behind the Constitutional direction that budgets should be proposed by the executive is that, it is the executive that knows and defines its policies and projects.”
The puerile defence of NASS by then spokespersons, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi and Abdulrazak Namdas was that it had the powers to do what it deems fit with the budget.
Hear them: “Adjustments and reductions in the locations, costs and number of projects approved were made in order to address geo-political imbalances that came with the executive proposal. The introduction of new projects was done to ensure the promotion of the principles of Federal …Character as contained in Section 14, subsection (3) of the 1999 Constitution.
“The number of projects had to be increased in order to give a sense of belonging to every geo-political zone of the country to ensure socio-economic justice, equity, fairness, and to command national loyalty.”
This line of specious defence was similarly cloned by minders of the current tenth senate to attempt to contradict Senator Ningi’s startling revelations and explain away a widely perceived, serious legislative integrity deficit under the watch of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
This was clearly why they brazenly neither gave Ningi the plenary floor to clarify his allegations, nor provide facts why they think his claims were frivolous but moved to quickly suspend him for three months.
