Peter Obi charges senate to clarify Ningi’s claim that extra N3.7 trillion was added to 2024 budget

Peter Gregory Obi, the ex-governor of Anambra State, called on the Senate to clear things up about Senator Abdul Ningi’s claim that an extra N3.7 trillion was added to the 2024 budget.

Earlier this Tuesday, the Senate decided to suspend Abdul Ningi, the senator from Bauchi Central Senatorial District, for three months. They did it because Ningi claimed that the 2024 budget was padded with a whopping N3 trillion.

Obi in a statement on Wednesday stated that the suspension of Ningi doesn’t resolve the significant issues related to the allegation. 

Obi added that the alleged padding of N3 trillion in the 2024 budget demands a thorough explanation to enlighten Nigerians on the country’s fiscal management. 

On Tuesday, Ningi, representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), faced a three-month suspension following an intense session in the red chamber.  

The federal lawmaker had earlier alleged in an interview that there are two versions of the 2024 budget operated by the Federal Government, claiming that the N28.7 trillion budget approved and enacted by President Bola Tinubu is biased against the North. 

Reacting to the development, Obi declared that every penny of Nigeria’s public funds must be dedicated to the public welfare, noting that the purported N3.7 trillion exceeds the combined national budget for health and education, which are the most vital elements of the human development index. 

“The fuss over the alleged N3 trillion padded into the 2024 budget raised by a Senator still rages as the Senate’s reaction of suspending the whistle-blower has not addressed vital issues emanating from the allegation.  

“The Senator is insisting on his allegation. Fresh allegations have also cropped up over indiscriminate and unbalanced allocation of constituency projects by the Senate leadership. 

“A civic society group, Budgit, through their official, have also added their voice to agree with the Senator. They allege that there was no detailed project allocations for about N3.7 trillion in the 2024 Appropriation Act. 

“The suspension of the senator involved by the senate has not addressed the issue. 

“They still owe the Nigerian public a clear clarification over the various claims and counterclaims, including that of the executive arm, to be able to know exactly what is happening, and also disclose to the public, the exact amounts allocated for constituency projects for appropriate monitoring of implementation by the public,” he noted.