Budget padding: CISLAC faults Sen. Ningi’s suspension

An advocacy group for good governance, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has faulted the Senate’s suspension of Sen. Abdullahi Ningi over his allegation that the 2024 budget was padded.

Mr. Ibrahim Musa, the Executive Director of the group, said in a statement in Lagos on Wednesday that the suspension of Ningi was an attack on freedom of expression.

According to him, the 1999 Constitution gives no power to the Senate to suspend a member of the National Assembly.

He pointed out that such power was only found in the Ethics and Privileges Committee laws, answerable to the plenary through the Senate President.

“On this note, the committee laws cannot override the constitution, most especially in a matter of freedom of expression, which is a fundamental right.

“Just as every member of the National Assembly, representing his/her constituency, has the primary mandates and responsibilities to absorb communal observations and offer feedback to the people for public accountability, expressing such in the form of an opinion must not be interfered with, intimidated, or suppressed in any way.

“The repressive action by the leadership of the Senate would clearly project the legislative arm as autocratic, which, to a large extent, would negatively impact legislators’ independence, robust debate, genuine submissions, and image of the legislature before Nigerians and the rest of the world.

“Unjust suspension of a senator who represents an entire senatorial district is similar to a public demonstration of an unguarded culture of silencing, insensitivity, disrespect, and marginalisation of the people.

“We strongly maintain that intimidating or silencing the opinions of the dissents or oppositions is unhealthy in any civilised democracy and must not be tolerated as a culture in Nigeria, he said.

He called on the Senate to, as a matter of urgency, shun what he called silencing opposition views in the legislature, saying the essence of the legislature was to allow for freedom of expression and contrary opinions.

Musa argued that Ningi was at liberty to make observations on the 2024 budget, especially at a critical moment when the nation was experiencing economic challenges.