The Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume, has disclosed that he warned the suspended Bauchi Central Senator, Abdul Ningi over the allegation of budget padding to the tune of N3.7 trillion.
Ndume said he warned Ningi after the Senator informed him about the budget padding to the tune of N3.7 trillion but he never listened.
The Senate had suspended Ningi for three months after lawmakers deliberated over the allegations he raised.
However, speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Ndume said when the Bauchi Senator first presented the case to him, he told him to provide evidence, which he could not.
Ndume accused Ningi of making the 2024 budget an ethnic and political issue, which is wrong.
Ndume said: “I sat next to the Senate Leader (Opeyemi Bamidele), he was very angry about what Ningi did, but honestly me too. What he (Ningi) did was wrong because I was involved.
“In the first instance, it started when they said capital projects were skewed to the South. The total in that budget that was brought before us by the President was not up to N9 trillion, it was N8.9trn and they are talking of skewed capital projects to the South and the total adding up to N15 trillion.
“That N15 trillion is strange, even with the amendment that we made, the capital component of this budget is not up to that.
“I told him he was wrong. I had even warned him when he brought the issue to me. I had told him to get a consultant to analyze the budget. But he refused to listen to me.”