Three senators from the Northern part of the country have denied the alleged N3 trillion insertion in the 2024 Budget describing it as unfounded, baseless and figment of the imagination of their leader, Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central).
The senators are Sunday Karimi (APC, Kogi West ), Titus Zam (APC, Benue North East) and Kaka Sheu (APC, Borno Central). The three lawmakers warn against what they describe as the antics of blackmailers bent on creating an atmosphere of crisis in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly.
Karimi, Zam and Sheu, speaking on behalf of the Northern Senators’ Forum, also said no room should be allowed for division and acrimony between senators from the North and South by those who may not want to accord priority to national unity and harmony. The senators in their statement say they can not be used to blackmail the budget process, which was done in good faith.
At a meeting last week, some Northern senators accused President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio of inserting projects worth N3 trillion in the 2024 budget. They alleged that the projects, which had no locations, were inserted into the budget, which they also claim was lopsided against the North and some parts of the South. The Northern senators also say Akpabio hurriedly passed the budget to favour him and his cronies.
The three Senators who have distanced themselves from the allegations say, the resolution from the meeting was to further scrutinise the report of the consultant hired by the Northern Senators Forum to audit the budget. Karimi, Zam and Sheu urged the Northern Senators Caucus Leader, Abdul Ningi, to “rein in those who think a crisis-ridden Senate would better profit them.”
Noting that the North has provided leadership in Nigeria and enjoyed the support of other regions seamlessly, and the representatives of the North should not appear to act as instruments of destabilisation now that power has shifted to the South. In their view, the North can agitate for a fair share of the national pie, but within the ambits of decency, decorum and dignity.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
