Kaduna-based Muslim cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, on Tuesday, sought government’s permission to approach and have talks with bandits who abducted about 287 schoolchildren from Kuriga Government Secondary and LEA Primary Schools in the Chikun Local Government Area of the state.

The Islamic cleric insisted that dialogue was the way to go, calling on President Bola Tinubu to take a different approach from his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, who rejected the dialogue.

The PUNCH reports that bandits invaded the Kuriga area of the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, shooting at their victims before taking away at least 280 of the pupils and teachers from both schools.

The incident occurred barely 24 hours after insurgents abducted 200 internally displaced women in Borno State.

The women were kidnapped in Ngala, the headquarters of Gambarou Ngala in Borno State, while fetching firewood in the bush.

Penultimate Thursday, bandits invaded the Gonin-Gora in the same Chikun LGA, prompting residents to barricade the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway in protest against the abduction of an unspecified number of people in the area.

Meanwhile, the government of the affected state has refused to dialogue with the bandits to release the schoolchildren and has also refuted claims that it had hired a private negotiator to facilitate the release of the victims.

However, reacting to the development, Gumi said in a statement, “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’s abductions but all cases.

“Also, the government should use the same approach it used in releasing passengers that were abducted on the Abuja–Kaduna train in 2022 to release the Kuriga school children and others.

“I am ready to lead a holistic dialogue between the government and bandits. It is my religious duty 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.”

Gumi had previously negotiated on behalf of state governments to free abducted people by bandits.

In May 2021, one of the parents of the kidnapped students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Kaduna State, said rather than point an accusing finger at Gumi for being complicit in the banditry ravaging the country, Nigerians should commend the cleric for his interventions in seeking the release of abducted persons in the country.

President Tinubu has admitted that things are really tough for Nigerians amidst the economic hardship in the country.

Tinubu made the admission on Tuesday at the Aso Villa mosque in Abuja at the first Tafsir, marking the beginning of Ramadan.

President Tinubu advised Nigerians to make sacrifices, discipline themselves, and demonstrate kindness to one another and their neighbours while also supporting the less privileged in society.

He said, “We thank Almighty Allah for sparing us to see another holy month of Ramadan. We thank Allah for sparing us through the elections and giving us the opportunity to be Nigerians.

”Yes, things are tough, but Allah has ordained us to make sacrifices, to discipline ourselves, help others, and be kind to ourselves.

”May Almighty God, that gave us this opportunity, strengthen our resolve; help us change our country, and extend our love to our neighbours.

”We face challenges of kidnapping, banditry, and others. May Allah show mercy on all of us, the dead, and accept our good deeds.

”May Almighty Allah give us strength and good life to see the month of Ramadan through and to continue in good faith to worship him. I advise all of us to continue to pray for our country.”

President Tinubu told the Ulamas that God has given them the wisdom, knowledge, and heart to teach others, emphasizing the importance of teaching forgiveness, patience, and endurance to the faithful, as well as sharing their blessings with others.

”It is in our hearts to make sacrifices and share whatever little we have with our brothers and sisters. Be kind and humble enough. The sacrifice that this period teaches us is enough.

”May Almighty Allah grant us the privilege and the strength; not the strength of hunger but the strength of character and attitude to love our country and make Nigeria great. As-Salaam-Alaikum,” the President prayed.

…Senate suspends Ningi, more controversies hit Upper Chamber

…We are all guilty, nobody has a right to accuse Ningi — Senator Jarigbe

Plenary for the Senate on Tuesday was coloured with rowdy session which further exposed the Upper Chamber to fiercer wind of confusion, particularly on controversies over budgetary imbalances.

The disclosure of budget padding to the tune of N3.7 trillion made by Senator representing Bauchi Central, Abdul Ningi, who was the Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, until his resignation on Tuesday after a suspension blow from the Senate, threw the upper chamber into the wind.

Motion to place punitive action on Ningi over his statement in an interview he granted to the BBC Hausa Service, on Saturday, that the budget passed by the National Assembly for the 2024 fiscal year is N25 trillion, while the one being implemented by the Presidency is N28.7 trillion, took a divergent view among Senators on the floor of the red chamber, generating more controversies.

…Ningi suspended, resigns as NSF Chair

Ningi was suspended on Tuesday following his allegations that about N3.7 trillion in the budget is not tied to any project.

Ningi on Monday had insisted that a sum of N3.7trillion in the 2024 budget was not tied to any project.

After making allegations of padding the 2024 budget with N3.7trillion tied to no projects, Ningi a former Deputy Senate leader, was suspended for three months over his comments in the interview he granted to the BBC Hausa Service on Saturday, where he alleged that the budget passed by the National Assembly for the 2024 fiscal year is N25 trillion, while the one being implemented by the Presidency is N28.7 trillion.

After much controversy over the allegation, the Senate on Tuesday passed a resolution to suspend the lawmaker for three months after a heated atmosphere.

According to the Senate, there is no evidence proving that the 2024 budget was padded as alleged by Ningi.

Although Ningi’s resignation letter as Chairman of the NSF was dated March 11, a copy was released shortly after Ningi was suspended by the Senate for three months following his comments on the alleged padding of the 2024 budget.

The letter reads: “I would like to resign my position as the 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.

“I would like to specially thank members of the forum for the opportunity given to me for the last eight (8) months to spearhead this very important forum. I believe this forum is very important and fundamental to the progress and development of Northern Nigeria.”

Ningi on Monday had said he was not afraid of suspension by the Senate as he was prepared to carry his cross.

According to Ningi, if he is suspended at the end of the day, he would see it as an honour against the backdrop that he believes in one God.

He had said power is transient, explaining that he spoke for himself and not on behalf of the Northern Senator Forum, (NSF), where he is chairman.

Ningi had clarified that there was no time during the interview that he said the Federal Government was operating two budgets. He added that he only said that N25 trillion was traced to projects, but that N3.7 trillion was not traced to any project.

Ningi had said, “I said we have established beyond reasonable doubt that N25 trillion so far has a nexus in the budget. That means that there is money, there is a project, and then there is location.

“But we are yet to ascertain N3 trillion of that budget. We have established the N3 trillion of that budget, we have not established its location and the place.

“However, I said going forward, the budget evaluation is ongoing. And I said lastly, the intention of the northern senators, as regards budgetary allocation, was to meet the Senate President with our findings and subsequently meet President Bola Tinubu.

“I have never acted as a regional person. And I have never spoken as a regional person, but I’m proud to say I’m a very proud northerner.

“It wasn’t a budget matter, but a budget issue. I believe in one God, and I believe power is transient. I believe what we are doing is temporary. I’m not scared of whatever you hear, I am not scared of any issue like suspension.

“If because I said what I would say, then I will be suspended, so be it. It will be an honour.”

Prior to his suspension on Tuesday, drama ensued when the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Sen Olamileken Adeola (Ogun West) stormed into the red chamber.

Sen. Adeola who was visibly angry in a high tone protested a closed door meeting to address the issue of claims of Ningi, while he kept saying, “No closed door, let’s do it open.”

In a later development, the Senate suspended Ningi for three months, asking him not to participate in all the activities of the 10th Senate.

The Senate also resolved that if Senator Ningi writes to apologise during the period, he shall be recalled to resume his legislative activities.

The resolution of the Senate on Tuesday was sequel to a motion by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Olamilekan Adeola (APC, Ogun West) on the allegations raised by Ningi of N3trn Budget Padding in the N28.7trn 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 N28.7 trn.

Earlier, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, APC, Ondo South, a member of the Senate Appropriation Committee, in an additional prayer had asked the Senate to suspend Ningi for an initial period of twelve months and seconded by Senator Edeh Dafinone, APC, Delta Cenchairman

An additional prayer was moved by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, APC, Cross River South that the suspension be reduced from twelve months to six months and his motion was seconded by Senator Barinada Mpigi, PDP, South East.

The additional prayer for suspension of a period of three months was raised by Senator Musa Garba Maidoki, PDP, Kebbi South and seconded by Senator Sani Musa, APC, Niger East.

The later additional prayer was put to vote by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio leading to Ningi’s suspension for three months.

…More controversies hit Senate, as revelation of ‘senior Senators’ who got N500m each from 2024 budget unfolds

However, more controversies set in for the Red Chamber as another issue of purported largesse to the tune of N500million set aside in the 2024 budget for each of some “senior Senators” was unravelled, amid debate on punitive measures to be meted on Ningi.

The development further threw the Upper Chamber into confusion.

On Tuesday, a Point of Order raised by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, was overtaken 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 N500million from the 2024 budget.

Adeola, (APC Ogun West) raised a Point of Order against the allegation by Ningi.

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 said.

Controversies engulfed the Senate since last weekend when in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (Hausa Service) on Saturday, Senator Ningi said that the budget being implemented by the Presidency is N28.7 trillion, whereas the one approved by the National Assembly for the 2024 fiscal year is N25 trillion.

While the Senate refuted Ningi’s claim, the Presidency said the National Assembly is responsible for up-shooting the budget away from what President Bola Tinubu presented.

Although Ningi later clarified that his claim was that N3.7 trillion in the 2024 budget was not tied to any project, he was suspended by the Senate at plenary on Tuesday for three months, just as he tendered a resignation as the Chairman of Northern Senators Forum.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu met behind closed doors with the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio and the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday shortly after the chaotic session at the Senate.

While the details of the meeting held behind closed doors was undisclosed as at the time of filing this report, it was gathered it was not unconnected with the controversies which the Senate is presently engulfed in.

The Co-Founder of civic group Budgit, Seun Onigbinde has stated that Senator Abdul Ningi was right about his claims that there was no detailed project allocations for about N3.7trn of the N28.78trn 2024 Appropriation Act.

Onigbinde stated this during a guest appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday.

However, he insisted that it was not true that Nigeria was running two concurrent budget

“There should be a detailed breakdown of the budget. On that point, Senator Ningi is right but to say that we are running two parallel budgets, I don’t think that is factual,” he said.

Recall that Ningi, had resigned as Chairman of the Northern Senators’ Forum, after he was suspended by his colleagues in the red chamber on Tuesday over budget padding allegations.

Onigbinde said as the rowdy session by Senate was ongoing, the Budgit team fact-checked claims by Ningi.

According to him, “As the Senate rowdy session was going on, we were also fact-checking and one of the things we found out is that we were not able to lay hold to the claim by Senator Ningi. A budget of N28.7trn was passed into law and we were not able to see where N3.7trn (was missing).

“Historically, there are items in the budget that don’t have breakdown like statutory transfers but that does not means there is a certain level of capital projects by the Federal Government that was appropriated and does not have a breakdown.”

He said the entire capital project was around N9trn in the 2024 Appropriation Act signed into law by President Bola Tinubu after the bill was reviewed upward from N27.5trn to N28.78trn.

“The budget we have now have the ministries, departments and agencies (MDA) and the government-owned enterprise budget.

“Around N2trn of the budget presented by the President is the government-owned enterprises budget. So, if Senator Ningi says there is a N25trn budget, yes, that is the MDA’s budget. It’s different from the government-owned enterprises budget whose budget was now added.

“It is factual that he says that but it doesn’t mean that we are running two concurrent budgets. There is a different conversation that those projects should be detailed. TETFUND should not just get an allocation. What are you spending money on? INEC is collecting huge chunk of funds but there is no public details about what the funds are used for.

“In the current budget, the National Assembly gave a very broad summary of its allocations but they are no detailed allocations on a granular level that everybody can understand.

“These are transparent issues and if you put all these together, that is around N3.5trn to N3.7trn. So, if that is what he (Ningi) wants to interrogate, that there are component of the budget where there are no breakdown, that is very factual,” he added

The Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, has denied being served with an impeachment notice from the state House of Assembly.

Recall that the Speaker of the assembly, Hon Blessing Agbebaku, during plenary on Monday, said the inability of the House to physically serve Shaibu led to a substituted service through an advertorial in the newspaper.

However, in a letter dated March 12, 2024, and addressed to the speaker, signed by his Personal Assistant, Charles Olubayo, the deputy governor said he was never served any letter let alone refusing to collect.

Shaibu asserted that he has been out of the state since March 3rd and therefore could not have been served as claimed during plenary.

The letter reads, “The Office of the Deputy Governor, Edo State wishes to draw your attention to the inaccuracies and misleading information that emanated from the plenary session of Monday, March 11, 2024, wherein Mr. Speaker directed that the impeachment notice be served on the deputy governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu through newspaper publications The Nigeria Observer and other national dailies, “sequel to the refusal of the deputy governor to acknowledge the impeachment notice”.

“Mr. Speaker was quoted to have also stated at the said plenary that ‘the action became necessary because the deputy governor refused to acknowledge an earlier impeachment notice sent to him through the clerk of the House.’

“We wish to state categorically that: No impeachment notice was ever served on the Deputy Governor let alone refusing to acknowledge the impeachment notice.

“The deputy governor has since March 3, 2024 travelled out of Benin to Abuja and has not returned to Benin since the said March 3, 2024.

“The clerk never saw the deputy governor whether in the office, at home or anywhere for that matter since the said date; hence surprised that the House resolved to publish the impeachment notice in the Observer and other national dailies because ‘the deputy governor refused to acknowledge the earlier impeachment notice sent to him through the clerk of the House.’ One therefore wonders where the clerk or his appointee served him the impeachment notice and he refused to acknowledge it.

“That neither the Clerk nor any person sent impeachment notice to the Deputy Governor which he refused to acknowledge.

“It is therefore our prayer that Mr. Speaker corrects the impression created in the public as the outcome of yesterday’s plenary to avoid misrepresentation in this all-important matter.”

The Nigerian Senate, on Tuesday, suspended the lawmaker representing Bauchi Central in the National Assembly, Abdul Ningi, for three months.

Senate Ningi was suspended after about three hours of debate over his interview in which he alleged that the 2024 budget was padded with N3.7 trillion.

Ningi had, in the interview on Saturday, alleged that the budget passed by the National Assembly for the 2024 fiscal year is N25tn while the one being implemented by the Presidency is N28.7tn.

After a backlash, Ningi, at a press conference on Monday, recanted some of his words but insisted that N3tn was left unaccounted for in the 2024 budget.

Below are quick twelve facts to know about Senator Ningi.

1. Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi was born in Bauchi, Nigeria on 20 April 1960 (age 63).

2. He attended Ningi East Primary School (1969–1973).

3. Ningi went to Government Secondary School, Misau, in 1978.

4. He enrolled at the Bauchi College of Art and Sciences for a 2-year pre-degree program.

5. He earned his B.Sc. in Sociology from Ahmadu Bello University in 1983, becoming the first in his family to attend university.

6. Abdul Ningi and his wife were married in 1982, and live in Ningi, Bauchi. They have five children.

7. In 1996, Abdul Ningi contested for the Bauchi State assembly under the platform of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) and won, but the Abacha-led government cancelled the election.

8. In 2007, Ningi was elected into the Senate under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform and was later removed by the tribunal.

9. In 2008, the appeal court reinstated Abdul Ningi as the rightful winner of the April 2007 Senatorial election.

10. He served as the Chairman Senate Ad-hoc committee on the Niger Delta crisis, where his input helped in developing the Amnesty program that resolved the Niger Delta militancy.

11. On 12th March, 2024, the Senate suspended Senator Abdul Ningi over allegations of N3.7 trillion padding of the 2024 budget.

12. A few hours after his suspension, Senator Abdul Ningi resigned as the chairman of the Northern Senators Forum.

The Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has continued to express worries amid rising hardship occasioned by the continued spike in commodity prices.

Naija News reports that Obi, in a post on his official X account on Wednesday, worried that many Nigerians now spend all their income on food alone. The former Anambra Governor, who referenced the hunger index forecast, lamented that the situation was becoming very complex.

He further called on the Nigerian government to ensure the security of farmers in the country and give them adequate support to increase food production.

Obi’s statement read, “I was alarmed when, in January 2023, the Cadre Harmonisé, a UNICEF publication, indicated that nearly 25 million Nigerians were at risk of facing hunger between June and August 2023 if urgent actions were not taken.

“I was very concerned and worried like every other Nigerian and I then called on the government of the day to take urgent steps and stem the tide of impending hunger in the nation. By the end of 2023, around 26.5 million Nigerians were then reported to be at risk of hunger in the nation. By the end of 2023, around 26.5 million Nigerians were then reported to be at risk of hunger in 2024, which was still of grave concern to Nigerians.

“It is saddening again to note that the same publication, Cadre Harmonisé is again warning that more Nigerians, to the tune of 31.5 million, are at risk of acute hunger and serious food insecurity between June and August 2024.

“The situation has now become more complex with the high cost of living and high inflation rate which pervades our economy. Today, with our ranking of 109 out of 125 countries measured on the Global Hunger Index, Nigeria is considered among the 20 hungriest nations in the world.

“Many Nigerian households now spend almost all their income on food alone, leaving all other family expenses to anyone’s imagination. I have consistently maintained that the surest way to fight hunger in Nigeria is by moving our nation from consumption to production, which entails aggressive investment in agriculture by fully exploring and cultivating the vast arable lands mostly in the Northern parts of the country.

“Now that we have been given notice of the impending danger – the additional number of Nigerians that will face hunger by June this year, I strongly urge that we work hard and put in place measures that will help us to avert it. We must take urgent steps to boost food production in the country to defeat the rising hunger, and attendant anger in the nation.

“With the high level of insecurity and terror attacks in many parts of the country hindering farmers from their agricultural activities, and management of our monetary policies impacting negatively on small businesses in the agricultural sector, the government must secure the farmers and give them adequate support for increased food production. Building a productive Nigeria remains our focus in the New Nigeria which is possible.”

The Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) Kaduna state chapter has appealed to political leaders and citizens to embrace liberality against greed, which according to the organisation, is a silent menace killing the country.

The CAN Chairman, Kaduna state Rev. Caleb Ma’aji made the appeal in Kaduna, on the occasion of his 54th birthday anniversary, saying Nigeria is blessed with everything and has no reason to suffer.

Rev. Ma’aji who lamented over the state of the country asserted that Nigeria has been plunged into the current economic realities on the ground of greed, adding that both leaders and the downtrodden are fighting for their personal gain without minding the implication of their actions on the destiny of others.

Speaking on the need for Nigerians to retrace their steps back to God and the good old days where everybody lived together as family, the CAN chairman remarked that life is transient and as such people must learn to live their life with eternity in view so as to have a glorious end.

“One thing I know is that life is transient, life is temporal. But even though this life is transient, it is an opportunity for us to prepare ourselves for eternity. We must live as wise people especially as we grow older. Our life should be tailored through meeting with our creator which obviously every man must come face to face with Him.

“God has so much blessed and chosen Nigeria. He has blessed us with everything we need both human, materials, resources and even immaterial but it is utilizing it inappropriately and wrongly that is causing us the pains that we are going through today.

“There is no fear of God in the lives of the leaders and there is equally greed on the path of followership. When God is not allowed to be in the centre of everything that has to do with us and our lives, we are certainly prone to have crisis, chaos and suffering.

“When leadership leads with the fear of God and the followers also follow with the fear of God, that is when we will have progress and with every sense of sincerity, the better for all of us. But when everybody is just fighting for their own, then Nigerians are bound to suffer.

“The leadership of this country must have the fear of God because the way they live, one day they will be accountable to God. Life, power and position are all transient. They all come and with time, they will go away but one thing is sure, the accountability to God is unshakable, we cannot compromise it and we cannot negotiate it,” The cleric said.

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.