A former deputy leader of the Senate and current lawmaker from Bauchi State, Abdul Ningi, has stirred up controversy by alleging that the 2024 national budget was padded with approximately N3 trillion.
Ningi, acting under the banner of the Northern Senators’ Forum (NSF), claimed in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service that President Bola Tinubu was operating two national budgets—one approved by the National Assembly and another unknown to parliament.
According to Ningi, the National Assembly had debated and passed a budget totaling N25 trillion, while the Federal Government is implementing a larger sum of N28.7 trillion. He asserted that this discrepancy has caused concern among northern senators, prompting them to enlist the help of experts to review the budget. Ningi, who chairs the Northern Senators Forum, expressed deep concern over the perceived “huge damage” done to the north and the entire country as a result of the alleged budget manipulation.
The allegations of budget padding have thrown leaders of the upper legislative chamber into panic.
Source: The Sun