‘We Stand Firmly By Ningi’ – Gov Mohammed Declares, Faults Senate’s Suspension
The Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, has announced that the state government fully supports Senator Abdul Ningi, who received a three-month suspension for his remarks regarding the untraceable N3.7 trillion in the 2024 budget. Senator Ningi, who represents Bauchi Central senatorial district in the National Assembly, was suspended by the Senate on Tuesday.
Following his suspension, he also resigned as Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF). During the Senate session, Senator Olamilekan Adeola (APC, Ogun West), the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, mentioned that the Red Chamber had implemented a framework to expedite the consideration and approval of the 2024 Money Bill.
He initiated this motion in response to the Bauchi senator’s breach of privilege.
Senator Adeola was instructed to bring forth a motion of privilege and national importance against Ningi due to his interview with the BBC Hausa, as per orders 9, 10, 41, and 51.
In response to Adeola’s motion, Jimoh Ibrahim, a member of the Senate’s Appropriation Committee, proposed the motion to suspend Ningi for 12 months based on accusations of criminal misinformation and breach of peace within the National Assembly.
During the State Executive Council meeting at the Government House in Bauchi on Wednesday, Mohammed expressed his disappointment over the Senate’s decision to suspend a federal lawmaker from Bauchi for speaking the truth and standing up for honesty. As the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, he mentioned that they will have private discussions to determine how they can support the embattled lawmaker, emphasizing the importance of standing up for the truth.
The Bauchi State Governor 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.
“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 saying is the truth,”
