The subject of the credibility of the National Assembly in national sustenance drive further came into the fore of test as one most roving political discourse, following allegations of padding of the 2024 budget to the tune of N3.7 trillion.

The upper chamber of the National Assembly came into the fore of discourse as the floor of the Red Chamber became the ground of controversies that have trailed the allegations with intrigues.

Issues began to draw wild reactions and attention when embattled Senator representing Bauchi Central,  Abdul Ningi while featuring in an interview with BBC Hausa, penultimate Saturday, 9th March, 2024 raised the alarm of N3.7 trillion Budget Padding in the N28.7trillion 2024 Appropriation Act and that the budget passed by the National Assembly for 2024 fiscal year is N25 trillion while the one being implemented by the Presidency is  N28.7trillion.

The Presidency had in a short time reaction linked the offshooting of the budget to the National Assembly. But things went sour for Ningi who was suspended after insisting that the budget was padded to the tune of N3.7 trillion for which projects tied to the same could not be identified.

Since the disclosure, more revelations reflecting dirty exchanges within the confines of the Senate began to find their way out of tight sealing.

Last Tuesday, 12th March, 2024, plenary at the Senate was much rowdy at the Red Chamber as another issue of purported largesse to the tune of N500 million set aside in the 2024 budget for each of some “senior Senators” added to controversy over alleged padding of the 2024 budget, to further throw the Upper Chamber into confusion.

On the floor, a Point of Order raised by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, was hijacked by event when Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe representing Cross River North, threw a bombshell when he revealed how some senior Senators got the sum of N500 million from the 2024 budget.

Adeola, (APC Ogun West) had raised a Point of Order against the allegation by former Senate Deputy leader and Chairman, Northern Senators Forum, Senator Abdul Ningi, PDP, Bauchi Central.

The Senators were divided on the matter. However, as they took turns to speak on the floor of the Senate, more revelations confounded the matter, when Jarigbe, a PDP senator said some senators got N500 million each but he did not get it.

“All of us are culpable. Some so-called Senior Senators here got N500 million Naira each from the 2024 Budget, I am a ranking Senator and I didn’t get anything. No Senator has a right to accuse Senator Ningi,” Jarigbe had said.

Aside from Ningi’s allegation, BudgIT had disclosed that a total of 7,447 projects culminating in N2.24tn were indiscriminately inserted in the 2024 budget by the National Assembly. 281 projects worth N491bn, and 3,706 projects within the range of N100–500m, worth 759bn were inserted in the budget.”

Hence, the subject of Ningi’s suspension over the allegations he made began to attract the course of regularity of indications to infractions in the fiscal document. Reactions from stakeholders had begun to question the integrity of the Senate, particularly as the Upper Chamber has been a subject of much controversy over alleged mismanagement of public funds and allegations of undue allowances at the expense of public interest and the masses. Last year, furious reactions had trailed a sum of over N100 million budgeted for each lawmaker of the National Assembly to purchase SUVs. Outcry had greeted the allocations as Nigerians cry foul of insensitivity of the lawmakers to settle for such exorbitant expenses at the expense of Nigerians who have been exposed to plights associated with policies introduced by the government, particularly on the foreign exchange and the discontinuation of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called Petrol.

Controversies over constituency projects widely believed to be a source of illegal venture through which Senators draw unduly  from the treasury, have become discourse of heated concern. On the controversies of constituency projects, former governor of Benue State, Senator Gabriel Suswam, recently had said that agitations among most members of the Senate are usually instigated by the  leadership of the National Assembly, which according to him, are disposed normally to taking the lion’s share of constituency projects. Suswam had stated this last Wednesday, 13th March, 2024, amidst the recent imbroglio, when he appeared on Arise Television in an interview.

He had said, “If the budget signed by the President was not more than initial submission, there was no padding.

“The issue is that the leadership of the National Assembly normally takes the lion’s share of constituency projects, and this agitates most members and senators.”

As the twist over the alleged padding of the 2024 budget to the tune of N3.7 trillion tied to no projects further gathers reactions, rights group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) had called the Senate President Mr Godswill Akpabio to discontinue infusion of constituency in the budget in the next budget cycle or face legal actions.

The call came amidst controversies the infusion of constituency projects have continued to generate, as a source through which lawmakers illegally draw from the nation’s treasure for personal aggrandisement.

SERAP in its reaction to the controversies of budget padding revealed by embattled Ningi had called on the President of the Senate to urgently refer the allegations that lawmakers padded the 2024 budget by irregularly inserting projects worth N3.7 trillion (as revealed by Ningi) to appropriate anti-corruption agencies for investigation and prosecution.

SERAP had also urged him “to immediately reinstate whistleblower Abdul Ningi who was recently suspended from the Senate over his allegations that the lawmakers padded the 2024 budget by irregularly inserting projects worth N3.7 trillion.”

SERAP also urged him “to make a public commitment to discontinue the patently unlawful constituency projects in the next budget cycle.”

In the letter dated 16 March 2024  signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “Referring these allegations to appropriate anticorruption agencies would be consistent with the lawmakers’ oath of office and the letter and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended].”

SERAP said, “What Senator Ningi has done is a positive act of good citizenship. No whistleblower should ever be penalised simply for making a public interest disclosure.”

The letter read in part: “Without inside information, corruption is hard to detect, prevent and combat. Rather than suspending Senator Ningi, the Senate ought to have used his allegations as a trigger for addressing the lingering problem of budget padding and corruption in the implementation of constituency projects.

“Referring the allegations to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would improve public trust in the ability of the leadership of the Senate to ensure probity and accountability in the budget process.

“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel you and the Senate to comply with our requests in the public interest.

“By exercising strong and effective leadership in this matter, the National Assembly can show Nigerians that the legislative body is a proper and accountable watchdog that represents and protects the public interest, and is able to hold itself to account in the management of public resources.

“Encouraging whistleblowers to speak up improves public services and strengthens public accountability. Promptly referring the allegations to  the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigations and prosecution would serve the public interest.

“Investigating and prosecuting the allegations of budget padding and corruption would end the impunity of perpetrators. It would improve transparency and accountability in the National Assembly, and build trust in democratic institutions with the ultimate aim of strengthening the rule of law.

“SERAP is concerned about the opacity and lack of accountability in the spending of public funds on constituency projects since the return of democracy in 1999.

“SERAP is seriously concerned that years of allegations of budget padding and corruption in the implementation of constituency projects have contributed to widespread poverty, underdevelopment and lack of access to public goods and services.

“Allegations of budget padding and corruption in the implementation of constituency projects have also continued to have negative impacts on the fundamental interests of the citizens in several communities and the public interest.

“SERAP is concerned that despite the country’s enormous oil wealth, ordinary Nigerians have derived very little benefit from the budget primarily because of budget padding and corruption in the implementation of constituency projects and the entrenched culture of impunity of perpetrators.

“Combating budget padding and discontinuing constituency projects would serve the public interest, improve access of Nigerians to basic public goods and services, and enhance the ability of ministries, departments and agencies to effectively and efficiently discharge their constitutional and statutory responsibilities.

“SERAP notes that Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution requires public institutions to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power.

“Section 16(2) of the Nigerian Constitution further provides that, ‘the material resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as possible to serve the common good.’

“Section 13 of the Nigerian Constitution imposes clear responsibility on the National Assembly including the Senate to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of Chapter 2 of the constitution.

“Section 81 of the Nigerian Constitution and sections 13 and 18 Fiscal Responsibility Act constrain the ability of the National Assembly to unilaterally insert its own allocations in the budget without following the due process of law.

“Nigeria has made legally binding commitments under the UN Convention against Corruption to ensure accountability in the management of public resources.

“Articles 5 and 9 of the UN Convention against Corruption also impose legal obligations on the National Assembly including the Senate to ensure proper management of public affairs and public funds.

“Article 33 of the Convention requires government institutions including the Senate to ensure the protection of whistleblowers against any unjustified treatment. These commitments ought to be fully upheld and respected.

“The National Assembly has a constitutional responsibility to combat corruption, waste and abuse in its own spending if it is to effectively exercise its oversight functions and hold the government to account.

“It is a travesty and a fundamental breach of their fiduciary duties for members of the National Assembly to arbitrarily increase their own budget and to use the national budget as a tool to satisfy the lifestyle of lawmakers, and for personal gain.

“SERAP also urges you to put in place transparency and accountability mechanisms to ensure that the trillions of naira budgeted for constituency projects are not embezzled, misappropriated or diverted into private pockets.

“Lawmakers should feel safe to freely raise public interest concerns, just as Senator Ningi has done in disclosing information on alleged budget padding and corruption in the Senate.

“Senator Ningi is a whistleblower, who is protected under article 33 of the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party. Senator Ningi is a whistleblower because of his public interest disclosures on alleged budget padding and corruption in the Senate in the context of carrying out his work as Senator.

“He is entitled to raise concerns about allegations of budget padding in the National Assembly to address the negative effects of corruption on access of millions of Nigerians to basic public goods and services and enjoyment of human rights.

“The allegations by Senator Ningi amount to public interest disclosures and can contribute to strengthening transparency and democratic accountability in the Senate in particular and the country as a whole.

“Suspension of Senator Ningi by the Senate followed a seriously flawed process and it amounts to retaliation. Senator Ningi’s status as a whistleblower is not diminished even if the perceived threat to the public interest has not materialised, since he would seem to have reasonable grounds to believe in the accuracy of the allegations of budget padding and corruption in the Senate.

“SERAP notes that freedom of expression is a constitutional and internationally recognized human right in Nigeria, and the country has enacted the Freedom of Information Act which grants Nigerians the right to seek and receive information such as the information about budget padding being disclosed by Senator Ningi.

“Whistleblowing is a fundamental aspect of freedom of expression and freedom of conscience and is important in tackling gross mismanagement of Nigeria’s commonwealth. Whistleblowing can act as an early warning to prevent damage as well as detect wrongdoing that may otherwise remain hidden.”

More events seem to unveil by the day as the dynamics surrounding the revelations which in Ningi words is a “can of worms” which he has opened, to which neither he nor others involved could stop.

“Nobody has talked to me about evidence. Nobody has suggested even listening to me. All they are trying to do is to ensure that ‘how do we make sure that Ningi is silenced or arrested so that he doesn’t do anything?’

“I have opened this can of worms. Neither they nor I will be able to control it,” Ningi’s words trailing his suspension.

The summary of the controversy was rightly captured in Ningi’s conclusion, but the issue of the ideals of what governs the Nigerian Federation has become a disgust in nationhood, and the thrust of nation building and development.

While Nigerians are much disposed to watch, the question of the direction of nation building by the prevailing political culture is a subject of deep discourse. It seems more, that the surface of empathy on the part of decision makers to salvage bleeding Nigeria is eroding more faster than ever.