Senators Iyal Abbas of Adamawa, Ibrahim Bomoi of Yobe, Abdullahi Yar’Adua, and four other senators have refuted the assertion made by Senator Abdul Ningi, the chairman of the Forum.
Under the auspices of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF), we, the undersigned senators from the 19 Northern States and the Federal Capital Territory, hereby declare that Senator Ahmed Abdul Ningi, the chairman of our forum and a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP, Bauchi Central), was not alone when he made the claims he made about the 2024 budget on the BBC Hausa Service.
As so, the viewpoint he conveyed was his own, sentimental, and regrettably distorted, false, and deceptive.
“We never convened and ordered Senator Ningi to speak to the media about the subject at hand.
As required by the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, President Bola Tinubu submitted the budget to the National Assembly on November 29, 2023, at a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives.
“The President’s proposal was carefully and methodically discussed, considered, and approved by both houses of the National Assembly. The President approved of it, expressing satisfaction with it.
“It is evident that the President submitted a N27.5 trillion budget to the National Assembly, and the Assembly approved a N28.7 trillion budget on the grounds that adjustments to the appropriations of the different MDAs were required. This was done in accordance with the National Assembly’s legislative authority to address important projects and services in a variety of sectors.
As a result, Senator Ningi’s claim that the President’s 2024 budget, which was submitted to the National Assembly, was for N25 trillion was untrue, and the Northern Senators Forum does not endorse this claim.
To the best of our knowledge, the 2024 budget did not undergo any form of budget padding.
“Senator Ningi’s claim that specific changes were made to the measure is only his personal opinion. That’s not how the majority of us Northern Senators see it.
As a result, we firmly and unanimously distance ourselves from his egregiously unparliamentary acts.
“That President Bola Tinubu has the unwavering support of the Northern Senators, who will do all in our power to help him overcome the obstacles confronting our nation.
“At this specific moment, Nigeria doesn’t require ethnic feelings; instead, everyone must work together to deliver prosperity to our beloved Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“We will continue to work with our brothers and sisters from the southern part of the country to move our country forward for the benefit of all and sundry.”