Northern senators on Tinubu, Akpabio’s throats over N3 trillion increase in 2024 budget

The Northern Senators Forum (NSF) has disclosed that its auditors have discovered a N3 trillion increase in the N28 trillion 2024 budget recently signed by President Bola Tinubu.

Demanding transparency and accountability, the Forum raised concerns about this significant increase, particularly citing potential biases against the Northern region.

Abdul Ningi, the chairman of the forum representing Bauchi Central under the PDP, shared these revelations during an interview with the BBC Hausa Service on Saturday.

Ningi noted the exhaustive efforts undertaken by the forum to scrutinize the budget: “Over the past three months, we have engaged consultants to meticulously review the budget for us. These experts have been meticulously examining the budget line by line.”

Expressing dismay at the perceived imbalances in the budget, Ningi stated, “We have observed the substantial harm inflicted not only on the Northern region but on the entire country by the provisions in this budget. Our intention is to meet with the Senate President and apprise him of our findings.”

Ningi said, “There seems to be another layer to the budget that was passed clandestinely, without our knowledge. The discrepancies and new allocations we have uncovered were absent from the budget that underwent debate and consideration on the floor of the National Assembly.”

Discussing the specifics of the budget discrepancies, Ningi explained, “For instance, it was reported that the budget totaled N28 trillion, yet what was officially passed amounted to N25 trillion. This raises questions about the additional N3 trillion—where is it allocated? Where is it being utilized? These are crucial inquiries that demand answers.”