*Says I’m not afraid of suspension
* Charge Ningi for criminal misinformation – Sen Jimoh Ibrahim
By Emmanuel Agaji
Chairman, Northern Senators Forum, Sen Abdul Ningi has dared the Senate to suspend him if they think that his allegation that the 2024 budget was padded to the tune of about N3 trillion is a ruse. The ranking lawmaker
insisted that he would stand by the contents of the interview he granted the BBC Hausa Service, but explained that he never said the Federal Government is running two different budgets.
He blamed the allegation of the government running two budgets on wrong interpretation by those who translated his interview from Hausa to English Language.
” At no time did I say Bola Ahmed Tinubu is implementing two budgets.There was no time, I said Bola Tinubu was biased against the north. The Hausa version is there.
“I said we have established beyond reasonable doubt about N25 trillion so far has nexus in the budget. That means that there is money, there is project and then there is location. But we are yet to ascertain N3 trillion of that budget. We have established the N3 trillion of that budget, we have not established its location and the place.
“But i said going forward, the budget evaluation is ongoing. And I said lastly, the intention of the northern senators as regards budgetary allocation was to meet the Senate President with our findings and subsequently meet president Bola Ahmed Tinubu with our findings,” he said.
Ningi also clarified that he granted the controversial interview in his personal capacity as the Senator representing Bauchi Central District of Bauchi State and not as Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum.
He said he was not afraid of being suspended by the Senate or facing any other repercussions because he bared his mind not only on the budger but on the state of the nation.
Meanwhile, the Senator representing Ondo South Senatorial District, Sen Jimoh Ibrahim, has urged the Inspector General of Police to charge Ningi to court for deliberate misinformation with intent to cause a breach of public peace.
Ibrahim said that Ningi cannot claim that his interview was mis- translated because he had earlier made the same allegations when he confronted the President of the Senate , Sen Godswill Akpabio before granting the interview to the BBC Hausa Service.
“What I want to mention to you today is that we don’t have two appropriations, and that Senator Ningi must be charged to court for breach of peace and criminal misinformation
“I have decided as a senator representing the good people of Ondo South to ask the Inspector General of Police and the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency charge Ningi for misinformation, criminal misinformation of course, and misconduct likely going to cause the breach of peace.
“If the senate will not move to do that within the next seven days, I will write a letter (and I have started that ) to the IGP to investigate the circumstances leading to the approval of two appropriations in 2024 and bring the culprits to book. If the IGP will not do it I will ask for the Order of Mandamus to compel a public officer to do that which he ought to do in accordance with the law ,” Ibrahim said.