Posted by Senator Agom Jarigbe of the Cross River North Senatorial District argued that Senator Abdul Ningi ought to have brought up the accusation of budget padding at plenary rather than trying to table it.
In a previous story, GODZGENERALBLOG reported that Ningi, who was running for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bauchi Central, had claimed that nearly N3.7 trillion in the 2024 budget was unallocated.
However, following Tuesday’s Senate plenary discussion on the subject, the Senate suspended him for three months on the basis of the accusation.
When asked about the N3.7 trillion, Jarigbe stated that it was later found out that it had been “captured under the GOEs, judiciary, National Assembly” during his appearance on Arise TV on Wednesday.
He thinks Ningi made a mistake by going to the press to spread the word about the inflated budget.
The unassuming senators who chose to dig into the budget and even hired an expert likely made that decision before Forum leader Senator Ningi took it up, he remarked.
If they hadn’t gone to the press, I believe they would have brought it to the Senate floor for discussion in the executive section.
It was revealed that the N3.7 trillion had been ensnared by the GOEs, the courts, and the national assemblies when the chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation described the issue. They belonged to the first line of defense.
An optical illusion, I guess you could say. The N3.7 trillion was a misconception. “The controversy would have been explained” had it been brought to the floor of the Senate.