A group, The Rescue Movement For New Nigeria, has described as terrible, the allegation by Senator Abdul Ningi that about N3 trillion was padded into the 2024 budget.
Consequently, it has called for a detailed probe to unravel the truth and bring to book the culpable “rather than rushing to suspend Senator Ningi that raised the issue publicly.”
The group’s National Director, Media and Publicity, Rev. Emmanuel Olorunmagba, in a statement lamented Nigeria’s situation it described as empathetic, especially in the face of the ongoing economic downturn.
It said: “at this time that our nation is passing through terrible economic downturn, when we are supposed to be hearing of drastic cut down in the cost of governance that have been highly extravagance, and what is saved from such cut down focused on fighting hunger; what we are hearing is budget padding to the tune of whooping N3 trillion and again that some Lawmakers were allocated N500 million.
“Instead of such weighty allegation to be thoroughly investigated, the Senate rushed to suspend Ningi. Thus, many Nigerians are now seeing the speedy suspension as intimidation to suppress the weighty allegation,” it said.
According to the group also known as Rescue Vulnerable Initiative, Ningi was categorical in his statement that about N25 trillion in the 2024 appropriation bill has nexus but was unable to ascertain N3 trillions of that budget.
The group, Ningi said: “We have established the N3 trillions in that budget, but have not establish the project and its location.”
Olorunmagba said: “this allegation is not only very empathetic, but specific and categorical.
“Thus, sweeping such under carpet while hunger is ravaging the ordinary Nigerians is the height of insensitivity.”
It however suggested: “Nigerians deserve to know the truth and appropriate actions should be taken to adequately address the issue except the power that be want to deliberately taken the masses for fools.”
Meanwhile, it also noted the alarming rate of escalations of insecurity in the northern part of Nigeria that has resulted in mass abduction in Borno, Niger, Plateau and kidnapping of pupils and staff from schools in the southern part of Kaduna State.
It called on the governors in the northern states to be more proactive and judiciously use their monthly allocations to beef up security the more towards interstate security network.
“The situation is getting too much and we cannot continue have a nation where bandit are more powerful than the State,” he said.
