The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has come under fire from the Arewa Initiative for the Defence and Promotion of Democracy (AIDPD) for its stance on the suspension of Sen. Abdul Ningi, the former chairman of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF), due to the budget padding incident.
A statement released, on Monday, by the spokesperson, Tasiu Haruna, suggested that the ACF continue to function as “an umbrella association of all northerners” rather than allying with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The ACF had denounced the senate’s suspension of Senator Ningi (PDP – Bauchi Central) for his claim on the BBC Hausa Service that N3.7 trillion had been padded out of the 2024 budget.
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Lawmakers, notably Sen. Solomon Olamilekan, the Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriations clarified during the investigation, last Tuesday, that Sen. Ningi’s quoted figure was for agencies covered by the first-line charge.
Speaking to the ACF, Haruna stated that Ningi was following a script and that Northern stakeholders were upset and concerned over the allegation that the budget was skewed in favour of Southern Nigeria.
“His inability to counter the claims by Senate Committee Chairman on Appropriation that the money was budgetary provisions for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), National Judicial Council (NJC), Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), National Assembly, Public Complaints Commission, North East Development Commission (NEDC), and other enterprises, deflated his allegation and should have laid to rest the controversy.
“We were shocked and disappointed when the spokesman of the ACF, Prof. Tukur Baba issued a press statement on the matter. Unfortunately, the forum condscended this low to allow itself to be used for a partisan agenda,” he noted.
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The Arewa Initiative further advised the ACF to invite the five key personalities in the making of the country’s budget for a thorough explanation of the matter.
“The minister, the chairman of the House committee, and the vice chairman of the Senate committee are from the North, while the South has the chairman of the Senate and the vice chairman of the House.
“We expect the ACF to invite the three northerners to speak on the matter before jumping to a conclusion. This is ridiculously bad for our beloved region. The ACF should not be seen to be in an unholy romance with the PDP but an umbrella association of all northerners.
“The minister, Atiku Bagudu, a northerner, faulted the allegation and described it as baseless and false. The ACF decided not to take his assertion. Rather, it backed Ningi. This is unbecoming of a group that is supposed to be fair-minded in dealing with all northerners and indeed Nigerians,” Haruna added.
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