Senator representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District, Abdul Ningi, was on Tuesday suspended by the Senate for three months for alleging that the 2024 budget was padded with N3 trillion.
The upper chamber also resolved that if Mr Ningi could send an apology letter, the leadership of the senate would thereafter decide whether to lift the suspension or not.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the suspension of Mr Ningi after it was supported by a majority of senators during deliberation at the Committee of a Whole.
The resolution of the upper chamber was sequel to a point of order raised by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Adeola Olamilekan, during the plenary.
Mr Ningi, the Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF), recently told BBC Hausa that the lawmakers sought the service of a private auditor and discovered irregularities in the budget.
“Example, we had a budget of N28 trillion but after our thorough checks we found out that it was a budget of N25 trillion. How and where did we get the additional N3 trillion from, what are we spending it for?” Mr Ningi told the BBC Hausa.
