Eko Hot Blog reports that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded the resignation of the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to allow for an independent investigation into allegations of padding the 2024 budget by N3.7 trillion.
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The call comes after Senator Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi Central, claimed that while the National Assembly passed a N25 trillion budget for the 2024 fiscal year, the Presidency is executing a N28.7 trillion budget. However, Ningi was subsequently suspended for three months for allegedly damaging the Senate’s image over what other senators deemed an unfounded allegation.
In a statement by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the party expressed support for the suspended senator and strongly criticized the Senate leadership’s decision to suspend Ningi without conducting a thorough investigation into the budget padding matter he raised.
“The Peoples Democratic Party demands that the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, immediately step aside and allow for an independent investigation into the allegation that a staggering N3.7tn was discreetly inserted into the 2024 budget for alleged non-existent projects,” Ologunagba stated.
The PDP also demanded that Akpabio report to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over a pending case involving the alleged looting of N108 billion belonging to Akwa Ibom State during his tenure as the state’s governor.
“Furthermore, the Senate President should speak out on the reported N86bn contract scam in the Niger Delta Development Commission during his tenure as the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs,” Ologunagba added.
The opposition party described Ningi’s suspension as a “desperate move to suppress investigation, conceal, and sweep the facts under the carpet,” questioning why the matter was not referred to the appropriate Senate Standing Committee for an open investigation.
“It is even more absurd that instead of recusing himself, the Senate President sat as a judge in the matter, a situation that has the capacity to bring the institution of the Senate to further public disrepute,” the PDP statement read.
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The party warned that the “apparent inclination towards covering up sleaze in the polity is already pitting the institution of the Senate against Nigerians who are demanding answers on the matter.”
The PDP reiterated its demands, stating, “Of course, the widely condemned suspension of Senator Ningi does not provide answers to the budget padding allegation.”
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