Bauchi Central Senator, Abdul Ningi, has relinquished his position as the chairman of the Northern Senators Forum.

His decision to step down comes in the wake of his suspension by the Nigerian Senate on Tuesday, amidst allegations of budget padding.

In his resignation letter, Ningi cited the unfolding events in the National Assembly, the North, and the nation at large as the basis for his decision. In a letter personally signed by him and addressed to the forum secretary, he stated, “I will like to resign as chairman of the Northern Senators Forum. This is, of course, necessitated by unfolding events in the National Assembly, the North, and the Nation at large.”

He continued, expressing gratitude to the members of the forum for entrusting him with the leadership role for the past eight months. “I believe this forum is very important and fundamental to the progress of northern Nigeria,” he added.

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Senate President Godswill Akpabio says claims of budget padding made by Abdul Ningi, senator representing Bauchi central, have put the integrity of the red chamber at risk.

The senate plenary on Tuesday turned into a rowdy session over Ningi’s allegation that the 2024 budget was padded by N3 trillion.

Over the weekend, Ningi alleged that “huge damage” has been done to the entire country through the budget.

The lawmaker further alleged that “apart from what the national assembly did on the floor, there was another budget that was done underground which we didn’t know.”

Speaking during an open session, Akpabio said the senate has lost the respect of the citizens due to the unverifiable statement made by the senator.

“Nigerians are bashing the senate. Many Nigerians will never in future come back to respect this chamber. The integrity of this chamber has been damaged and we wanted you to repair it with your speech,” the senate president said.

“Instead of that, you said you have more documents to prove what you are saying. This thing is in the public glare. I am still waiting to receive full details up to this moment. If you had given me full details, I would have known what you know.

“So far, what you know is only known to you, it is not known to anyone else. I don’t know how you rushed to the press carrying different versions. The social media is very fast. From Canada, the United States, everywhere, the story was budget padding by the senate.”

Meanwhile, the senate has suspended Ningi for three months after a motion on privilege moved by Solomon Adeola, senator representing Ogun west.

Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun has raised an alarm about potential attacks on schools and rural farm communities in the state.

According to the governor, there are intelligence reports indicating a deliberate mobilization of criminal elements for attacks on rural areas.

According to Adeleke, the attackers aim to disrupt farming activities through kidnappings and assaults on rural farm settlements.

In a statement by his spokesperson, Malam Olawale Rasheed, Governor Adeleke disclosed that schools are being targeted with abductions and attacks.

To address the security concerns, Adeleke announced that a meeting of the state security council had been convened.

He also issued preliminary directives to school authorities to enhance the safety of pupils and students.

“The Ministry of Education and all educational agencies have been ordered to review safety measures in Osun schools in line with the safe school initiative.

“In specific terms, school principals and heads are expected to clear overgrown weeds in school environments and ensure close liaison with the Parents and Teachers Association to secure their school environments,” he said.

He said the state is peaceful and would not succumb to attempts to destabilise the peace and harmony among the people.

“No stone will be left unturned to disrupt plans of enemies of progress to plunge the state into crisis.

“I urge members of the public to inform security agencies of any unusual movements or activities across the state,” he added.

The Abia state government has rescued 16 pregnant girls from a baby factory in Aba.

This was revealed by the First Lady of the state, Priscilla C Otti, via a post on X.

Expressing deep concern, the First Lady conveyed her sadness over the discovery.

She strongly condemned the heinous act of profiting from innocent girls and reiterated her commitment to safeguarding the Abia girl-child from violence and exploitation.

Her words: ”I was deeply saddened by the recent discovery of a baby factory in Aba, where approximately 16 pregnant girls were rescued.

”It’s particularly disheartening that this occurred on International Women’s Day, a day when we celebrate the invaluable contributions of women in Abia state.

”I am determined to safeguard the Abia girl-child from violence and exploitation, and I strongly condemn the heinous act of profiting from innocent girls.

”This barbaric practice endangers the lives and well-being of these girls, exposing them to serious health hazards including HIV and other STDs.

”Our findings indicate that unemployment, lack of education, and poverty are contributing factors to this tragedy.

”I reaffirm my commitment to empowering vulnerable girls, especially those recently rescued, through skills acquisition programs.

”Rest assured, all perpetrators will be brought to justice. Let’s unite as Abians to eradicate this despicable practice and ensure the safety and dignity of our girls.”

Nigerian Army troops say they have uncovered and neutralized a major firearms and drone manufacturing factory allegedly operated by the Eastern Security Network (ESN).

According to Army spokesman, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, the factory was located at Onicha Ulona in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State.

He said the troops faced stiff resistance upon raiding the facility but managed to overpower the armed fighters in a fierce firefight.

Nwachukwu said two of the fighters were neutralized, and a substantial cache of arms and ammunition was recovered.

”Items captured by the troops include, a wide range of IPOB/ESN firearms, ammunition, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and a drone manufacturing factory.

”Other items recovered are a variety of weapons, drones under construction, with prototypes, Improvised Explosive Device materials, a fully equipped workshop, and several power generating sets.

”Troops also apprehended four male and two female fighters during the operation,” he stated.

He assured members of the public of the troops’ unalloyed commitment to dismantling terrorists’ and insurgents’ networks.

”We urge the public to continue to support the Nigerian Army and other security agencies as they strive to restore peace and stability in the country,” he concluded

Controversial Islamic scholar Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has expressed his readiness to engage with the terrorists responsible for kidnapping 287 school children from Kuriga Government Secondary and LEA Primary Schools in Chikun local government area of Kaduna State.

In a press statement from his media team, Gumi stated that he is willing to facilitate negotiations between the federal government and the bandits to secure the release of all abducted Nigerian citizens.

Gumi proposed that the government should adopt a similar approach used to recover passengers kidnapped from the Abuja-Kaduna train on March 28, 2022.

He encouraged the administration of President Bola Tinubu to avoid repeating the error of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who refused to negotiate with bandits.

In his statement, Gumi said, “The government’s stand of no negotiation with the bandits is an unfortunate position.

“My advice is that the government should dialogue with the bandits, not only for these Kuriga school children abductions but all the cases.”

He further added, “I am ready to lead a holistic dialogue between the government and bandits. It is a religious duty for me to do so for peace.

“I hope the present government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will listen by dialoguing with the bandits because the past administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari refused to do so.”

The school children were abducted last Thursday, and the government has yet to secure their release

Bandits responsible for the abduction of 16 students from a Qur’anic school in Sokoto State have demanded a ransom of N20 million.

The proprietor of the school, Liman Abubakar, also known as Tsangaya, revealed the ransom demand during an interview on Tuesday with Daily Trust.

“I received two calls from them this morning (Tuesday’s morning). In the first call, they asked me whether I don’t care about the plight of my students that was why I didn’t contact them. I told them I didn’t have their contact.

“They then asked me to wait for another call around 11am. Some minutes after 11am, they called again and directed me to meet our village head and tell him to raise N20 million for the children.

“I wanted to plead with them but they said they would not reduce anything from the money. I went and discussed the matter with the village head but we are yet to reach a conclusion,” he said.

The students were reportedly abducted at Gidan Bakuso in Gada Local Government Area of Sokoto State last Saturday while seeking refuge in their rooms during an attack on the community.

The Nigerian Senate has suspended Senator Abdul Ningi for 3 months following allegations of Budget Padding.

During an Interview on BBC Hausa last week, Ningi accused the Senate of Padding the 2024 appropriation bill to the tune of N3.6 Trillion.

Ningi represents PDP, Bauchi Central. Despite outrage and widespread condemnation from his colleagues in the Red Chamber, Ningi maintained his position on Monday that N3.7tn could not be accounted for in the 2024 budget.

During Plenary on Tuesday, Senator Olamilekan Adeola (APC, Ogun West) raised a motion that there is urgent need to address the false allegations by Ningi.

Adeola, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, read the transcript of Ningi’s Hausa BBC interview on the floor of the house after Senate President Godswill Akpabio called for a committee of the whole house.

Senator Jimoh Ibrahim then moved for the suspension of Ningi for 12 months.

The session became heated with Majority of the Senators clamoring that it should be reduced to 3 months.

More to come….

Currently, the Senate finds itself embroiled in a tumultuous session following Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe’s revelation that all ranking senators received the sum of N500 million.

This bombshell was dropped by Senator Jarigbe during Tuesday’s plenary session while discussing the motion on breach of privilege raised by Senator Olamilekan Adeola.

Senator Adeola invoked orders 9, 10, 41, and 51 to bring forth a motion of privilege and address the issue of national importance regarding Senator Abdul Ningi’s recent interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (Hausa Services).

In this interview, Senator Ningi alleged a disparity between the budget passed by the National Assembly and the one being implemented by the Presidency, stating, “For the first time in Nigerian history, today we are operating two different budgets.” He further claimed, “Apparently, we discovered ₦3tn was inserted into the budgets for projects without locations.”

Senator Jarigbe, seeking to provide clarity on the matter, highlighted that the missing N3.7 trillion, as alleged by Senator Abdul Ningi, had been accounted for under the Government Owned Enterprises and first line charge. He remarked, “I thought this issue should have ended when the chairman of Committee on Appropriation explained that the N3.7tn were under GOEs and the first line charge. That explains everything but if we want to express our grouse, I also have mine and we are all culpable. After all, all the ranking senators got N500m each. I am a ranking senator and I didn’t get.”

The revelation about the alleged disbursement of funds to ranking senators swiftly threw the Senate into disarray.

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers attacked the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) in Ituku Ozalla, Enugu State, in the early hours of Tuesday.

The attack comes after a previous incident earlier this year when a resident doctor was abducted from the hospital premises but later managed to escape from the kidnappers’ den.

According to reports, the attackers abducted a female deputy director of the hospital and a security personnel during the Tuesday morning raid.

The assailants reportedly abandoned an SUV belonging to the abducted woman, a nurse, which displayed signs of bullet perforations on the front passenger side, as seen in a viral video.

“This is so sad; we are not safe at all in this hospital; everywhere is porous,” a distressed staff member told Vanguard.

The police and hospital management have not yet officially confirmed the incident, and details about the circumstances surrounding the abduction remain unclear.