Alleged budget padding: Ningi’s political relevance

SIR: From the onset, Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi tends to put his foot in the shoes of our fallen heroes of yore, the likes of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Sir Ahmadu Bello, Prime Minister, and Premier, who left no stone unturned in upholding the spirit of transparency and national interest. He embodies their ideals of courage, humility and guts.

Carefully sampling the opinions of most citizens on the recent suspension of my senator, and perhaps that of the Northern region as a repercussion that has raised dust in Nigeria’s political arena; the negative tendencies of the decision taken by the apex law making body to distance Ningi from his legislative duties for three months following his widely publicised outcry on the alleged N3.7 trillion budget padding, it will create a vacuum difficult to be replaced by the bench warmers with no gut to stand firm in representing their constituents, not to talk of the entire 19 Northern states and the country by extension.

At least, for the sake of complementing the effort of the true democrat who can rub shoulders with anybody in the red chamber without fear, I expect members of the so called Forum to make the plenary a rousy session by buttressing their anger on the punishment motion moved by Senator Ibrahim Jimoh of the same caucus with the Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Making a simple analysis on his resignation as the chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, his three months exit from the National Assembly gathers more political relevance to the opposition figure and patriot, I think is a bold step in the right direction since he was left on his own and couldn’t be rallied round for by the 57 key actors worshiping the same political idol in their shrine except for a few.

Leader, the popularity fetched you by the recent saga in all the conventional and new media where people trooped in their numbers to eulogise you for the sacrifice and total devotion as another giant of African democracy can be attributed to be a sign of better days ahead.

Shortly, after serving the suspension order, fresh monetary secret deal in the 10th NASS was exposed by Senator Agom Jarigbe, tagging the ranking senators as culpable for receiving half a billion naira each for the 2024 budget which he wasn’t a party to, saying Ningi’s uproar should be given a critical look.