Senate Was Right To Suspend Ningi Over Budget Padding Claim – Moro

Abba Moro

Abba Moro, the Senate Minority Leader, has said that the suspension of the Senator representing Bauchi Central in the National Assembly, Abdul Ningi, was appropriate after he alleged that the 2024 budget was padded.

He stated that Ningi was wrong to have granted an interview on the matter after the Northern Senators Forum had an audience with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, regarding the alleged padding.

The former Minister of Interior, while speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Wednesday, said the upper chamber is now having credibility problems as a result of the claim.

He said: “I think the Senate did the appropriate thing, I was there. Budget padding may not be mentioned here now in the 10th Senate because previous budgets have been criticised based on budget padding.

“But this is the first time a participant senator who was honestly engaged in the whole process is coming out to say that what I did was wrong and rubbing it on all of us. I think it is not correct.

“The budget in question was passed by the senators. Senator Ningi is a senator, he was a member of the Appropriation Committee. I am from the North and he purported to speak for the North.

“Why I was angry is that Senator Kawu Samaila, who is the spokesperson of the Northern Senators Forum, came before me and said he was going to address the press on this same matter while the debate was going on.

“I said, ‘You don’t do that. You raised issues, we are tackling the issues, and here you are, you want to address the press, go ahead and address the press.’ That was why I raised my hands because, as minority leader, Senator Kawu Samaila is a member of the NNPP. He is with me and signed for me to be a minority leader.

“So why would he not accept my advice? As people have commented now, the Senate is already having some level of credibility problems. Why would an individual arrogate to himself the power to know it all, say it all?”