Tensions are reportedly rising among lawmakers in the Senate Committee on Appropriation following the alarm of alleged padding of the 2024 Budget raised by the Chairman, of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF), Senator Abdul Ningi on Saturday. Ningi, who represents Bauchi Central Senatorial District in the red chamber, had while speaking on BBC Hausa Service at the weekend, alleged that the 2024 Budget passed by the National Assembly was inflated to the tune of N3 trillion. He claimed that what was approved on the floor of the Senate was N25 Trillion, not N28 trillion. The lawmaker further alleged that budgetary allocations for projects and social infrastructures were skewed against the North and disclosed that the Forum of Northern Senators had engaged the service of a consultant to look at the budget.
Checks revealed that certain members of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, led by Senator Solomon Adeola, held a closed-door meeting at the National Assembly on Sunday. Further checks revealed that the Senate is set for a stormy session on Tuesday as members of the Appropriation Committee are set for a showdown with Ningi, who sources said will be asked to shed more light on his allegations of inflation of the 2024 Budget. Investigations revealed that Ningi, who made the allegation of budget padding and marginalization of the North in the 2024 Budget, would ultimately be left in the lurch by his colleagues in the Northern Senators Forum, as multiple sources revealed that certain principal officers from the North who are lawmakers of the ruling AP), along with members of the Stability Group loyal to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, are already galvanizing support for leadership of the Senate to douse the tension created by Ningi’s allegation.
