“N3.7trn budget padding: I warned Ningi, he didn’t listen” – Ndume

Ali Ndume, the Senate Chief Whip, has revealed that he cautioned Abdul Ningi, the suspended Bauchi Central Senator, regarding the accusation of budget padding amounting to N3.7 trillion.

Ndume stated that he had cautioned Ningi after being informed by the Senator about the budget padding amounting to N3.7 trillion, but his advice fell on deaf ears.

Ningi has been suspended by the Senate for a period of three months following a thorough discussion among lawmakers regarding the allegations he brought forward.

During an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Ndume revealed that when the Bauchi Senator initially approached him with the case, he requested evidence, which the Senator was unable to provide.

Ndume has accused Ningi of turning the 2024 budget into a matter of ethnicity and politics, which is deemed inappropriate.

Ndume said: “I sat next to the Senate Leader (Opeyemi Bamidele), he was very angry about what Ningi did, but honestly me too. What he (Ningi) did was wrong because I was involved.

“In the first instance, it started when they said capital projects were skewed to the South. The total in that budget that was brought before us by the President was not up to N9 trillion, it was N8.9trn and they are talking of skewed capital projects to the South and the total adding up to N15 trillion.

“That N15 trillion is strange, even with the amendment that we made, the capital component of this budget is not up to that.

“I told him he was wrong. I had even warned him when he brought the issue to me. I had told him to get a consultant to analyze the budget. But he refused to listen to me.”