Budget padding: Your integrity is worthy of praise – Bauchi Gov, Bala backs Ningi

The Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, has declared support for suspended Senator Abdul Ningi.

According to the governor, the suspended lawmaker’s integrity is praiseworthy.

Mohammed, who was elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as Ningi said, “I stand firm in our support for Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi of Bauchi Central.”

According to a post on X, Mohammed made this known at the Bauchi State Executive Council meeting.

“I emphasised the importance of preserving dissent within our political landscape without resorting to punitive actions.

“I am committed to examining Senator Ningi’s situation further. It is common knowledge that Senator Ningi is one of the best performing senators whose heritage and uprightness, ancestry and integrity are worthy of praise,” the post read.

In an interview, Ningi had claimed that the federal government is operating two versions of the 2024 budget and that the N28.7 trillion budget passed and signed into law by President Bola Tinubu was skewed against the North.

Many senators and the presidency pounced on Ningi, describing his claims as “far-fetched and unbecoming of a leader of his status”.

Ningi would later deny saying that the country is operating two budgets but insisted that only N25trn of the budget was tied to projects while N3.7trn had no project tied to it.

The embattled lawmaker subsequently resigned as the Chairman of the Northern Senators’ Forum, even as he was suspended by his colleagues in the red chamber for three months.