Budget padding: Why suspending Ningi was right — Abba Moro

The Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro, has stated that the Senate was correct in suspending Abdul Ningi, the Senator representing Bauchi Central in the National Assembly, for claiming that the 2024 budget was bloated.

He stated that Ningi was incorrect in agreeing to an interview on the topic after the Northern Senators Forum met with Senate President Godswill Akpabio about the alleged padding.

In an interview with Channels Television on Wednesday, the former Minister of Interior stated that the upper chamber's credibility has suffered as a result of the claim.

He said: “I think the Senate did the appropriate thing, I was there. Budget padding may not be mentioned here now in the 10th Senate because previous budgets have been criticised based on budget padding.

“But this is the first time a participant senator who was honestly engaged in the whole process is coming out to say that what I did was wrong and rubbing it on all of us. I think it is not correct.

“The budget in question was passed by the senators. Senator Ningi is a senator, he was a member of the Appropriation Committee. I am from the North and he purported to speak for the North.

“Why I was angry is that Senator Kawu Samaila, who is the spokesperson of the Northern Senators Forum, came before me and said he was going to address the press on this same matter while the debate was going on.

“I said, ‘You don’t do that. You raised issues, we are tackling the issues, and here you are, you want to address the press, go ahead and address the press.’ That was why I raised my hands because, as minority leader, Senator Kawu Samaila is a member of the NNPP. He is with me and signed for me to be a minority leader.

"So why would he not accept my advice? As people have commented now, the Senate is already having some level of credibility problems. Why would an individual arrogate to himself the power to know it all, say it all?”