There was uproar in the Senate on Tuesday, March 12, over an allegation that some senior senators received N500 million each for projects.
A Peoples Democratic Party representing Cross-River North Senator, Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe, had revealed during a Senate plenary session that ranking senators received a sum of N500 million each for projects.
Jarigbe revealed this while discussing Senator Olamilekan Adeola’s motion on breach of privilege by Senator Ningi.
In a media interview, Senator Ningi, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Population representing Bauchi Central, claimed that the 2024 Budget was inflated by N3.7 trillion.
Senator Adeola had invoked orders 9, 10, 41, and 51 to present a motion of privilege and raise an issue of national importance regarding Senator Abdul Ningi’s interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (Hausa Service).
Senator Ningi in his interview alleged that the Senate operates with two distinct budgets, highlighting over N3 trillion in unexplained funds within the 2024 budget.
Jarigbe however during the plenary session said: “We are going back and forth on this issue and coming up with issues of the budget and individual issues concerning what came to our various constituencies.
“If we want to go into all those issues, all of us are culpable. Some so-called senior senators here got N500m each, I am a ranking senator I didn’t get anything, did I go to the press?
The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central) while speaking after the uproar had died down clarified that the said N500m was for constituency projects.