OPINION: Senator Ningi: Taking The Least Treaded Path

As Senator Abdul Ningi handed his legislative documents to a sergeant-at-arms and bade his colleagues farewell after his 3-month suspension had been announced on Tuesday, the 12th of March, 2024, one would have thought that the lawmaker representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly would be stewing in regret over his ‘unpopular’ decision to accuse the Senate of padding the 2024 budget; but alas, the seemingly unperturbed lawmaker sauntered through the aisle of the Red Chamber in a manner that betrayed an unapologetic mien and a deep pride in what he had accomplished.

He looked like someone who carefully weighed the implications and consequences of his actions before executing them as there was no trace of remorse in his face. He must have been very proud to call the bluff of the very Senate of which he is a member and whose ‘excesses’ he could no longer condone.

Senator Ningi must have been so disgruntled with the way the Senate is being led by Mr. Godswill Akpabio that he threw caution to the wind and called the Senate leader an accomplice to a grave crime. He said the 2024 budget was not fair to the North, but did not give details on why he made such an assertion, and accused the Senate of adding about 3.7 trillion naira to the original 25 trillion naira earlier passed on the floor of the Senate.

In the wake of the controversial development, public affairs analysts and political pundits weighed in on the matter and tried to rationalize on Senator Ningi’s stance. Some were of the opinion that Ningi, being a seasoned lawmaker and one who has a firm grasp of the matters of national budgeting, could not have spoken out of tongues in alleging that the budget was padded; while others claimed that the vocal Senator was hastily suspended from the Senate to prevent him from doing more damage to the already-battered image of the Senate. There were allusions that the Senate was simply treading cautiously by silencing one of its own whose ‘loud mouth’ could pit the public against the legislature and draw widespread criticism and condemnation to it.

The general perception was that the Senate did not give Ningi the grace to conveniently prove his point and substantiate his claims, and that the rowdiness that erupted at the Senate chamber on the day of Ningi’s suspension was just a ploy to prevent a decorous and organized debate that would have opened a can of worms.

Be that as it may, the man at the centre of the controversy has already issued a threat to the Senate. Few days after his suspension, Ningi vowed to open the much-dreaded can of worms and uncover the turpitude and depravity that the APC government reeks with.

As the chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, Ningi swore to put his best foot forward in challenging the systemic biasness which he feels has prevented the North from deriving its full budgetary benefits as guaranteed by the law. Many sympathizers of Senator Ningi have strongly attributed his humiliation at the Senate to his being a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and claimed that such a fate would never have befallen a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) even if he committed a worse offence. But the common question that seems to be on the lips of everyone is whether a card-carrying member of the APC would ever allege that his party, which controls the central government and the legislature, was involved in an illegality such as budget padding.

This question, all the more, buttresses the widespread presumption that Ningi’s allegations against the APC-led Senate and the Federal Government were not without substance. To show how tenaciously he holds on to his claims and allegations, Senator Ningi rejected the soft landing offered him. He was told to retract his allegations, apologize to the Senate and have his sins forgiven, but he declined. He chose rather to forfeit all his rights and privileges as a Senator than eat his words. He opted to hold his head high and embrace suspension than succumb to intimidation.

The drama that played out at the Red Chamber on that fateful day was replete with awe-striking revelations. The senators who conspired to have Ningi suspended did not hide their parochial sentiments. An observer watching the scenario that played out on that eventful day would have wondered if the men and women present at the plenary had any iota of concern for the country’s welfare and wellbeing. The concerns of an average Nigerian senator range from personal gains to very narrow considerations. There is hardly any one of them who truly cares about the growth and advancement of the country. Budget padding is one way through which lawmakers plunder the country’s commonwealth, and they do this without conscience and shame.

Senator Ningi could not have put it better when he asked: “We had a budget of 28 trillion naira, but after our thorough checks, we found out that it was a budget of 25 trillion naira. How and where did we get the additional 3 trillion naira from? What are we spending it on?”

Members of the Senate appropriation committee would have us believe that the additions made to the initial budget were for certain vital expenditures; but if it were so, how come a senator who is abreast with budgetary affairs and who has been part of national budget development since over 20 years now could not see any sense in all their explanations?

Some APC apologists have dismissed Senator Ningi’s allegations as baseless and accused him of being dissatisfied with a southerner occupying the seat of power; but even if it were so, can Senator Ningi’s supposed “northern-mindedness” be likened to the barefaced “narrow-mindedness” of Senator Opeyemi Bamidele who blatantly urged the Senate President not to accept any apology tendered by Senator Ningi and even accused Ningi of trying to spark off an impeachment plot against him?

This is what Bamidele said against Ningi: “We must never accept any apology from Senator Ningi. It is ridiculous to do so. He lied deliberately. Mr. Senate President, you’re occupying that seat 40 years after a South-South person occupied it. The last time a Southerner was there was during Obasanjo and they were being changed every time. It was only stable when it returned to the North.

“David Mark spent eight years, Saraki completed his four years, and Lawan spent his four years. Don’t be deceived, the losers of the June 2023 Senate presidential election are still angry. Some have accepted but a few haven’t. They have plotted to remove you before June 2024. This is why you must not allow this deliberate mischief by Ningi to go away. He knew he was lying, he set the public against you, and he will do it again. We must apply our sanction.”

So, considering the acute narrow-mindedness betrayed by Bamidele in urging Akpabio to suspend Ningi without accepting any apologies from him or anyone else, does one need any further proof to accept that members of Nigeria’s legislature are so consumed with parochial and partisan sentiments that they do not care at all about the country and its masses? Bamidele claimed that Ningi’s intention was to pit the masses against the Senate President, but he did not realize that Akpabio had already incurred the chagrin and disapproval of the masses when he insensitively revealed the huge sums of money shared amongst Senators at a time when the masses are dying of hunger and lack.

Bamidele did not realize that Akpabio’s gross insensitivity and insensibility to the plight of the suffering citizens are a glaring testament to his lack of empathy, humaneness and poor leadership style. It was widely expected that the Senate and House of Representatives would at least shelve the idea of spending billions on the procurement of new cars in these days of economic downturn, but they did not do as were expected. They include unnecessary items in their budgets without considering the implications of such extravagances on the country’s lean purse. This was a major reason for Ningi’s outburst.

Perhaps a day will come when the right-thinking legislators will occupy the National Assembly and act according to the expectations of the people they represent. If there are more of Ningi’s kind of Senators to raise an alarm when things are being done wrongly at the National Assembly, we can probably be sure of a legislative revolution soon in Nigeria.

Senator Ningi may not be perfect or flawless, but his decision to accept suspension from the Senate rather than yield to the oppression of the majority is greatly commendable. With people like Senator Abdul Ningi at the Senate, there is hope for Nigeria.

Nwachukwu is an Abuja-based journalist and Media Consultant. He can be reached at [email protected]

Disclaimer: This article is entirely the opinion of the writer and does not represent the views of The Whistler.