Bala Mohammed, the governor of Bauchi State, has stated that he fully supports Senator Abdul Ningi, who was given a three-month suspension by the Senate on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Ningi, the legislator for Bauchi Central, was placed under suspension.
In addition, he gave up his post as Northern Senators’ Forum Chairman.
Ningi was suspended when he asserted in a BBC interview that the National Assembly had inflated the budget for 2024 by N28.7 trillion.
Ningi stated in the Friday interview that the 2024 budget does not allot N3.7 trillion to particular projects.
He stated, “For the first time in Nigerian history, today we are operating two different budgets. One budget was approved by the National Assembly and signed by President Bola Tinubu and the one was implemented by the presidency.
“The one approved by us is N25tn while the one operating by the Federal Government is ₦28tn.
“Apparently, we discovered N3tn was inserted into the budget for projects without locations. This is the highest budget padding that happened in Nigerian history under Senator Akpabio’s watch.”
Moreover, the senator repeated the allegation at a news conference on Monday and stated that he had no fear of being suspended.
Nonetheless, the governor of Bauchi State outrightly declared that he supported the lawmaker.
“In today’s State Executive Council meeting, I made it clear that I stand firm in our support for Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi, of Bauchi Central,” Mohammed wrote on his official X account on Monday.
He added, “I emphasised the importance of preserving dissent within our political landscape without resorting to punitive actions.
“I am committed to examining Senator Ningi’s situation further. It is common knowledge that Senator Ningi is one of the best performing senators whose heritage and uprightness, ancestry and integrity are worthy of praise.”
Senator Opeyemi Bamidele from Ekiti Central faulted Ningi’s claims that the 2024 budget passed by the Senate was padded, calling it a “civilian coup.”
The move to suspend Ningi for a year was started by Senate Appropriations Committee member Jimoh Ibrahim in response to claims that he had spread false information and violated peace in the National Assembly and throughout the nation.
Senators Asuquo Ekpenyong and Abdulfatai Buhari, on the other side, suggested some changes to Ibrahim’s motion.
While Buhari from Oyo North requested three months, Ekpenyong, who represents the Cross River South Senatorial District, urged decreasing the sentence to six months.
Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President, called Ningi’s offenses “grievous.”
A voice vote was held, and Ningi’s three-month suspension was approved by most of the lawmakers.
