Port Harcourt — Abdul Ahmed Ningi, the senator representing Bauchi central senatorial district was led out of the Senate today (March 12) by one of the sergeant-at-arms to begin a three-month suspension from the Red Chamber for his comments on the 2024 national budget. Legislators enjoy immunity in their speeches. This is so they can freely air their views in debates. Senator Ningi was not contributing to a debate. He spoke to the BBC Hausa Service and made serious allegations on the national budget. He claimed that the National Assembly passed a budget of N25 trillion, contrary to the N28.7 trillion being implemented by the Federal Government. And he described the budget as “anti-north.”
As you can imagine, there was public uproar on the suggestion of budget padding of N3.7 trillion, which if true, is a breach of the constitution, and an impeachable offence on the part of the President. You would then understand why The Presidency denied the allegation immediately and strongly, condemned the PDP lawmaker for making “false claims.” A group of Northern senators dissociated themselves from the allegations of their colleague, saying “he didn’t speak for them.”
Senator Ningi himself didn’t help matters. Addressing journalists in Abuja, he denied saying the budget was padded, but maintained “that there was N3.7tn yet to be accounted for.” Tell me if not for semantics, what’s the difference between six and a half dozen? His colleagues asked the same question at the plenary session, where the transcript of the interview was read. The stage was set. A motion was moved, supported and put to a voice vote. The “ayes” had it and Senate President Godswill Akpabio pronounced the will of the chamber: “Senator Ningi is hereby suspended from the Senate for a period of three months.” Down went the gavel, and the senator was led out in a walk of shame.
Senator Ningi is not a small boy in the National Assembly. A graduate of Sociology from Ahmadu Bello University, he first worked in the private sector, and joined politics and was elected into the House of Representatives on the platform of the PDP in 1999. He got re-elected in 2003 and 2007. He chaired several committees and was also House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2007. He won election to the Senate in 2011 and was chosen as deputy majority leader. Although the PDP lost its majority in the 10th Senate which was inaugurated in June last year, he was made Chairman, Senate Committee on Population in a power sharing arrangement.
Senator Ningi’s statements point to a pattern of glib pronouncements by lawmakers. And sadly, we don’t have a better example of this than the Senate President himself. Speaking before the Senate adjourned in August last year, the No 3 citizen goofed on the payment of monies to senators in a hot mic moment. “In order to enable all of us to enjoy our holidays, a token has been sent to our various accounts by the clerk of the national assembly” he said. When reminded he was on national TV, he clumsily attempted to reverse himself and became the butt of biting comments and jokes on social media. “I withdraw that statement. To allow you to enjoy your holiday, the Senate President has sent prayers to your mailboxes to assist you to go on a safe journey and return,” Akpabio said.
Akpabio was in the news again for the wrong reason last month when he said the Federal Government had given N30 billion to state governors to weather the current economic headwinds in Nigeria. What is more puzzling is that he admitted reports of the allocation were “unverified,” and still went ahead to demand that the governors spent the money judiciously. If the No 3 citizen cannot verify such allocations, who would? Governor ‘Seyi Makinde of Oyo State who is the vice chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum said as much while denying the claim. “So, if the senate president, who is the number three citizen in this country, could be quoting an unverified report, people are looking at us as leaders. This is the period that we are supposed to give confidence to our people. It is not the period to start playing politics or to start looking for scapegoats.”
The Senate President however, hit the right notes in the Abdul Ahmed Ningi saga when he said: “Nigerians are bashing the Senate. Many Nigerians will never in future come back to respect this chamber.” True, but It will take more than suspending one senator to build public trust in the Senate or the legislature as an institution.
