‘We stand firmly by Ningi’ - Bauchi Gov disagrees with Senate’s suspension

The Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed has declared support for Senator Abdul Ningi who was recently suspended for three months after he alleged that the 2024 budget was inflated by N3.7 trillion.

Ningi, speaking in a BBC interview on Friday, March 8, 2024, alleged that N3.7 trillion was not tied to specific projects in the 2024 budget.

He further said that the budget passed by the National Assembly for the 2024 fiscal year was N25 trillion, while the one being implemented by the Presidency was N28.7 trillion.

As a result, the Senate President, Goodwill Akpabio said his interview totally damaged the integrity of the upper chamber and that it was an attempt to incite the public against the National Assembly.

Shortly after the suspension, Senator Ningi resigned as Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF).

Meanwhile, Governor Bala speaking during the State Executive Council meeting at the Government House, Bauchi, on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, said, “yesterday I was very sad the Senate suspended one of our best from Bauchi for saying the truth, for standing up to be the beacon of the truth.”

Mohammed, who is also the chairman PDP Governors’ Forum, said, “Equally I don’t know what we will do but we will discuss privately to see what we can do to support him because I support whatever he is doing and that is our best position especially if what he is saying is the truth.”