Alleged budget padding: Arewa Forum declares their stand on Ningi’s suspension

The Senate’s suspension of Sen. Abdul Ninigi, the immediate past chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, has been condemned by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), which claims that the North’s interests are at stake.

Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba, the ACF’s National Publicity Secretary, explained in a statement that rather than suspending the senator, the Senate should have looked into the concerns he brought up to determine the validity of his assertions.

When responding to criticisms of its actions, it urged the Senate to proceed with greater circumspection.

In the 2024 budget approved for implementation, Ningi had alleged that N3.7 trillion was not assigned to any particular project.

The interests of numerous communities in Northern Nigeria are at stake, according to ACF, who noted that the allegation has subsequently been denied by the 10th Senate as being untrue.

It stated that ACF favours a comprehensive investigation of the allegation by a statutory or ad hoc committee of the Senate, as opposed to the path of a hasty suspension of Ningi.

It said that the padding allegation, as well as those involving the inclusion of goods as “constituency projects” that benefit particular senators’ communities, remain unanswered, with all of the ensuing negative consequences for the executive and the Red Chamber.

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