Senate President Godswill Akpabio has met President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Aso villa, Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The meeting between the two top citizens comes amidst a rowdy session in the upper chamber of the National Assembly on Tuesday over the allegation by Senator Abdul Ningi that the Presidency was implementing a different version of the 2024 Budget, an allegation that has been denied by president Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The magazine reports that Senator Ningi had accused the Presidency of padding the budget to the tune of over N3 trillion, for which he has now been suspended for three months over the matter after the Senate met yesterday.
Amidst the controversy, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele had alleged on Tuesday that Akpabio was the target of Ningi’s accusation, saying that some senators were plotting to impeach the former Akwa Ibom state governor.
Speaking during plenary, the senate Leader noted that Akpabio has been a target for impeachment plots from day one and said that those engaged in the plots want him out before the end of his tenure.
He wondered why the impeachment banner against the Senate President was always up each time a Southerner occupied the seat.
He stated that the only time a Southerner (s) occupied it, during the President Olusegun Obasanjo Government, each of them was hounded out of office.
Bamidele explained that the opposite happened when the seat was occupied by Northerners. He cited Senator David Mark who had a smooth eight years in office, Dr Bukola Saraki who served out his tenure even though many arrows were thrown his way, as well as the immediate past Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan.
From all indications, those that initially backed Senator Ningi have made a u-turn following the decision of some northern senators to disown him.
Some senators under the aegis of the Northern Senators Forum had while addressing journalists on Monday stated that Senator Ningi, the leader of the forum (before he resigned on Tuesday) was on his own on the matter, describing the allegation as his personal opinion which did not represent the position of the forum.
The senators include Iyal Abbas from Adamawa, Ibrahim Bomoi from Yobe, Abdullahi Yar’ Adua, and four others, who totally dissociated themselves from Ningi.
The senators said, “We, the undersigned on behalf of the Senators from the 19 Northern States and the FCT, under the aegis of Northern Senators Forum (NSF), hereby state that Senator Ahmed Abdul Ningi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP, Bauchi Central), who also happens to be the chairman of our forum, was on his own in the claims he made on the BBC Hausa Service on the 2024 budget.
“As such, the view he expressed was his personal opinion, sentiment and unfortunately skewed, incorrect and misleading.
“There was never a time where we held a meeting and mandated Senator Ningi to address the press on the said matter.
“The budget was presented to the National Assembly during a joint session of the two chambers – Senate and House of Representatives – by President Bola Tinubu on November 29, 2023, in line with the requirement of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Both chambers of the National Assembly diligently and meticulously debated, processed and passed the proposal of the President. And satisfied with it, the President assented to it.
“It is clear that Mr President presented a budget of N27. 5 trillion to the National Assembly and the Assembly passed a budget of N28.7 trillion based on the need to make increases or decreases in the appropriations of the various MDAs, which is in tandem with the legislative powers of the National Assembly in order to address critical projects and services across various sectors.
“Therefore, the statement made by Senator Ningi that the 2024 budget presented to the National Assembly by Mr President was the sum of N25 trillion was not correct and that should not be taken as the position of the Northern Senators Forum.
“To the best of our knowledge, there was no budget padding whatsoever that was done to the 2024 budget.
“The assertion by Senator Ningi that certain things were done to the bill is his personal opinion. It is not the view of the generality of us, the Northern Senators.
“Hence, we strongly and collectively dissociate ourselves from his action which was grossly unparliamentary.
“That, we, the Northern Senators are solidly behind President Bola Tinubu and we will continue to support him to succeed in addressing the challenges facing our country.
“Nigeria, at this particular moment, does not need ethnic sentiments but collaborations of all to bring prosperity to our beloved country, the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“We will continue to work with our brothers and sisters from the southern part of the country to move our country forward for the benefit of all and sundry,” the senators added.
