Chief Whip of the 10th Senate, Ali Ndume, has said each senator was allocated N200 million for constituency projects in the 2024 Budget.
Over the past few days, controversy has ensued over the 2024 budget, amid allegations of padding and project insertions.
Recall that last Saturday, Abdul Ningi, who is the Senator representing Bauchi-Central, stirred controversy when he alleged that the budget was padded with the sum of N3 trillion by the Senate.
Speaking in an interview during a television programme on Wednesday, Ndume said 10 senators, who are leaders, including himself, got more than N200 million in constituency allocation.
The allegation elicited debate on the floor of the upper legislative chamber as many senators were furious over Ningi’s claim. During the debate, Jarigbe Jarigbe, a lawmaker representing Cross River-North, claimed that some “senior senators” got N500 million in the 2024 budget for constituency projects. Subsequently, Ningi was suspended for three months.
Speaking on the development, Ndume said Ningi was wrong for the budget padding allegation. He added that the Bauchi senator wanted to make the 2024 budget an ethnic issue.
The Borno senator said the issue of constituency projects is not a new phenomenon in Nigerian politics.
He added that most of his colleagues know that he got more funds than they did because of his position as the Chief Whip. “All the senators have N200 million each for their constituency projects; but I’m a leader. That’s the difference”, he said.
“Ten of us are leaders; including the ones in the opposition. They got more than the floor members. It is normal. My colleagues know that I got more than the N200 million allocation. We are not all the same. All animals are equal but some are more equal than others. That is the case”.
Ndume declined to disclose the exact amount he received for his “constituency projects”.
