Nigeria: Opposition senators caught in budget padding scandal

The recent budget padding scandal that has rocked the Nigerian Senate has sent shockwaves throughout the country, as citizens grapple with the realization that their elected representatives may not have their best interests at heart.

The embattled Minority senators, who were caught in the scandal, now find themselves facing tough questions and scrutiny from both the public and their colleagues in the Majority.

The revelation by Senator Abdul Ningi, a member of the People Democratic Party (PDP), has exposed the alleged manipulation of the 2024 Fiscal Budget by the Senate. According to Ningi, a whopping ₦3.7 trillion ($2.3 billion) was padded into the budget, with the Senate leadership and the Presidency colluding to deceive the public. This brazen act of corruption has further eroded the already fragile trust that the Nigerian people have in their elected officials.

This revelation walks in line with Afrobarometer data which affirmed that the Legislature (directly or indirectly) often endorses any offer from the Executive. Yet, Ningi was rewarded with three months suspension for saying the truth through a motion of privilege in accordance with the Senate Standing Orders 9, 10, 41 and 51 2023 (as amended) moved by an APC Senator, Olamilekan Adeola.

The motion was thoroughly deliberated mostly by the available APC senate members on Tuesday’s Plenary while minorities in attendance could not save their colleague till the announcement of next adjournment date. This action lacked solidarity and showed no stewardship.

Senator Suleiman Kawu, NNP, representing Kano South, was also striked for his act in sharing and distributing the BBC content which filmed Ningi on social media.

In the latest development, through Ningi’s allegation, it was revealed to the public that ₦17 billion ($10.5million) was secretly divided by 34 Senior Senators. Order 1 of the Senate Rules regards any member (irrespective of political parties) that has spent two terms in the National Assembly as a Senior Senator. This means that some opposition members had their shares, which made them avoid Ningi.

Confirming the shares, Senator Ọpẹ́yẹmí Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), stated that though the Senior senators got ₦500m ($310, 343), which he termed as Constituency Projects. The question is, why did they remain silent about it before the allegation was published by Ningi?

“I was going through online and it’s trending that every senator got N500m here today and I am not going to deny anything. My appeal to Nigerians today is not about what was said here today because I am not going to deny that.

“But we have 12 months to implement this budget and see whether any of these senators here will not implement boreholes, enough solar street lights, road construction, training, and empowerment that will not be up to N500m.” Ọpẹ́yẹmí said.

Following the suspension, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the main Opposition party, through its Secretariat, issued a press release asking the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio and APC leadership in the Senate to immediately step aside and allow for an independent investigation into the allegation that a staggering N3.7 trillion ($2.3billion) was discreetly inserted into the 2024 budget for alleged non-existent projects. This response was somehow unfortunate, the party failed to queried its own senior senators about alleged ₦17 billion ($10.5 million).

Also, Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 Presidential Candidate, via his X, stated that the ₦1.2 trillion which he said the Executive admitted to have been padded should be channeled into any of the critical areas of development to positively impact the nation and uplift the people. However, he did not comment about his party’s members’ silence at Tuesday’s Plenary.

It is now evident that the 10th Senate Assembly has lost its credibility in the public domain. Democracy, which ought to be people oriented, is in the hands of selfish-minded and corrupted people.

The National Assembly as an agent of Checks and Balances and last hope of the People through the passage of development bills, has been engulfed by corruption – an issue that not only  hampers sustainable and socio-economic development but also degrades democracy in Africa.

In the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index, Nigeria ranked 145 among 180 corrupt countries in the World. The diversion of allocated funds for community development projects in 109 Senatorial Districts to personal purse by the lawmakers contributed to more the index.

According to Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), as at Q2 2023, the country’s public debt stock which includes foreign and domestic debts stood at ₦87.38 trillion ($113.42 billion) from ₦49.85 trillion (US$ 108.30 billion) in Q1 2023, indicating a growth rate of 75.27% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

The National Assembly has never ceased from enacting proposed foreign loans presented by the Presidency. And Nigeria as a Chair of ECOWAS ought to stay far away from anything that will tarnish the white of democracy beyond Africa.