Budget Padding: Group Chides Bamidele Over ‘Civilian Coup’ Allegation Against Northern Lawmakers, Expresses Loss Of Confidence On Senate Leadership

The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) North East Chapter declared that it has lost faith in the Senate’s current leadership due to massive, unparalleled corruption that has never occurred in a Senate before. Isah Abubakar Waziri, the Group’s zonal coordinator, released a statement on Friday criticising the circumstance in which certain senators received an astounding N500 million allotment while other senators received N200 million in the 2024 budget disguised as constituency projects. He declared: “A serving senator, Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe, revealed during the Senate’s plenary session that certain senators received an astounding 500 million naira from the 2024 Budget, while others received only 200 million naira.

“This brazen and despicable abuse of office decimates the remainder of any pretence to abide by constitutional provisions and rules guiding the National Assembly.

“Similarly, a civil society organization, BudgIT, confirmed Senator Abdul Ningi’s allegations that N3.7trn could not be accounted for in the 2024 appropriation which Bamidele is depriving Nigerians of knowing the truth, or interrogating facts and figures.”

The North-East Chapter of the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), further chided Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, over his allegation that the Northern senators were planning a civilian coup against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

According to the statement, “The North-East Chapter of the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), observed with keen interest the discussions that ensued in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly as a corollary to the allegations of budget padding in the 2024 Budget by Senator Abdul Ningi.

“Expectedly, the Senators debated the issue in the Red Chamber as their tradition as a lawmaking body of the country and as an important institution of democratic governance.

“Unfortunately, we observed with rather a shock, that a ranking senator, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, stooped so low to profiling northern senators and by implication, the northern people for planning to stage what he described as “a civilian coup”.

“Senator Bamidele descended further to portray northerners as unreliable who are hell-bent on removing Godswill Akpabio as the President of the 10th Senate.

“It is imperative to educate Bamidele that the North he is insulting gave the highest and most decisive number of votes to the incumbent President Bola Tinubu just as the northern senators who constitute the majority facilitated the emergence of Godswill Akpabio as the Senate President.

“For the avoidance of any doubt, it is important to unravel this dangerous rhetoric woven around our differences by a senator through provoking sectional sentimental calculation over and above the priority of collective and cohesive struggle to enshrine accountability and transparency in the Senate.

“Let it be vivid to Bamidele that the Northern lawmakers always make robust legislative engagements irrespective of who is superintending the National Assembly which is why for example Abdulmumini Jibrin challenged Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara and Sen. Ali Ndume confronted Sen. Bukola Saraki with allegations, yet, it was only the issues that were dissected and debated.

“It is necessary to deploy every plausible means to disabuse the ilk of Bamidele from such narrow political conjecture that can only gain currency in a situation that stifles democratic etiquette.

“It is clear, therefore, that Bamidele, as a majority leader of the senate, has some skeletons on his cupboard with the alleged budget padding that was why he resorted to ethnic-cum-regional chauvinism while commenting on the issue that he was talking as a “southerner”; reclining to his parochial and primordial enclave to prevent further exposition of his corruption and that of the senate leadership of which he is a part.”

The North East Chapter of Coalition of the Northern Groups further noted that these accusations and blackmail to the North do not come as a surprise to them, “as Bamidele is trying to position himself as a parochial and ethnic chauvinist who bluntly described himself as a “southerner” while making his unsavoury remarks.”

The Group, however, noted what it described as “an embarrassing alliance from some northern senators specifically Senator Ahmad Lawan and Senator Aminu Tambuwal” as alluded to by Bamidele while he was disparaging their people, region and heritage.

“It is, albeit, not entirely stunning as the two senators may have some dark past while holding sway at the Senate and Sokoto state respectively.

“While Ahmad Lawan may have some questionable romance with backing Emefiele’s ways and means as senate president, Tambuwal is trying to be relevant after his awful performance as a governor that has nothing to show.

“We are calling on all northerners to be wary of electing people of questionable character to represent their interest and that of their region as such people would remain subservient to preserve their hidden fault to the detriment of public interest.

“The North should firmly stand by Senator Ningi as he is not just a true representative of his constituents but also one who stands to protect the interests of the North and Nigeria as a whole. He deserves our collective approbation.

“In the same vein, what is clear to any discerning observer of our political landscape is that Bamidele wants to attract maximum publicity for himself and draw in from the corrupt pools that he desperately wants to be seen guarding for his principal in the Red Chamber.

“This is an extraordinary abuse of parliamentary privilege by a senator who proclaimed to be a lawyer.

“Such weighty allegations are not only dangerous to the peace and security of Nigeria but also reveal Bamidele’s penchant for hatred for the North and complete disdain for democratic transparency and accountability.

“The North East Chapter of CNG, therefore, strongly condemns Senator Bamidele’s jingoistic and abhorrent utterances that are capable of plummeting the remnant of the battered reputation of the Red Chamber.”