DRAMA AS OGUN SENATOR LASHES OUT AND CALLS FOR A MEETING TO DISCUSS THE ALLEGED 2024 BUDGET PADDING

Babatunji Wusu –

Before the plenary began on Tuesday, there was a small-scale spectacle on the Senate floor around the alleged 2024 budget padding.
Remember that Senator Abdul Ningi said the National Assembly had added N3.7 trillion to the 2024 budget in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service on Saturday.

Before the plenary began on Tuesday, there was a small-scale spectacle on the Senate floor around the alleged 2024 budget padding.

Remember that Senator Abdul Ningi said the National Assembly had added N3.7 trillion to the 2024 budget in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service on Saturday.

According to the senator from Bauchi Central, the approved budget for 2024 is N25 trillion, whereas the budget being carried out by the President is N28.7 trillion.

Sen. Ningi later withdrew his earlier statements, claiming that he never stated the president was operating two budgets, but N3.7 trillion was not disclosed. This was done in response to criticism.

Senator Olamileken Adeola (APC-Ogun West), the chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, stormed into the chamber angrily at around 11:00 a.m. and demanded an open session.

The senator repeatedly said, “No closed door, let’s do it open,” in a tone that was obviously upset.

Sen. Adeola had scheduled a press conference for Sunday, but she later canceled it, saying the matter will be discussed on the floor.

He went on to say that he had changed his original strategy to use the Senate to address the problem of supposed budget padding by using internal legislative tools.

Speaking to the media, Adeola stated that the Senate Chamber on Tuesday was the ideal venue for a response because a sitting senator who took part in the budget’s deliberations made the accusation of budget padding.

He said, “As you people can see, many Senators are here with me across the six geo-political zones to react to what a senator said at the weekend on alleged two versions of the 2024 budget, but after realizing that there are laid down procedures and processes to follow in dealing with such a matter involving an insider, we have decided, to shift the venue of reaction to the Senate Chamber on Tuesday, after which, journalists would be briefed adequately.”