IN what appears like enforcing disciplinary measures on legislative members, the leadership of the Nigerian Senate might be punishing its members who criticise the current administration of President Bola Tinubu.
In separate interviews, the ‘disciplined’ senators were reported to have raised questions about unclear financial misappropriations within the government; an action that stirred disagreement within the hallowed chambers.
Essentially, it is within the purview of legislators, beyond making and amending the law, to question the processes of how the law and governance carry out implementation. But since the 10th Senate, under the leadership of Senator Godswill Akpabio, was inaugurated in June 2023, this has barely happened.
On July 18, Ali Ndume,representing Borno South, was stripped of his role as the Chief Whip of the Senate. The decision was taken following a letter from the national chairman of the All Progressive Congress, (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, and the secretary, Bashir Ajibola, which was read during the plenary by the senate president.
The ICIR reported that Ndume had alleged that ex-President Muhammadu Buhari was a more accessible leader, accused Tinubu of being out of touch with some of the issues plaguing the country and had been “fenced off by plutocrats.”
These statements were interpreted by the APC national leaders as “unguarded utterances” that are “against the federal government”, as contained in the letter.
Although it was not the first time Ndume would be stripped of a position as a legislator serving for 21 years, the recent sack was the second time the lawmaker would be stripped of the position of a principal officer in the 10th Senate.
Before Ndume, there was Ningi
About five months ago, the Senate also suspended Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District, for three months over the allegation that the National Assembly padded the 2024 budget.
Ningi’s allegation was hinged on some questionable items of the budget amounting to about N3 trillion. Also, there were allegations of some projects carried out by MDAs without a description and some constituency allocations higher than others.
Although The ICIR extensively analyzed the allegations introspecting into the budget, Ningi’s claim, however, caused an uproar within the plenary session. He was later recalled from suspension in May.
What both senators have in common
Aside from the fact that both senators are from the North, which is not a factor in their suspension, both senators have been long-serving members of the Senate since 2011 and have equally served as lawmakers in the House of Representatives. This means that they understand lawmaking soundly.
While Ningi is a member of the opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party, Ndume, who is now a member of APC, was part of the opposition party until 2014.
Until their suspension, both lawmakers were members of the Appropriations Committee during the 10th senate which looks into the financial expenditure of the executives. While Ndume was the vice-chairman, Ningi was a member of the committee.
Both senators granted interviews to the press raising questions on financial misconduct.
These unexpected similarities suggest that the upper chamber may be trying to protect the executives from any challenging questions as regards the government’s expenditure.
Recently, the Senate approved the extension of the implementation of the capital component for the 2023 Appropriation Act and the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Act to December 31, 2024.
This approval, according to The ICIR report, raised several concerns over the potential implications of this unconventional approach to budgeting.
A public affairs analyst Akpo Ebireri told The ICIR that the stifling of Senator Ningi and Ndume has become cultural with the Senate, which means that much cannot be expected of the Akpabio-led Senate.
He said, “The effect of this is that we will continue to see a reckless and untamed executive and further weakening of institutions if this course is not reversed.
“This can be changed when citizens take more active steps towards holding legislators to account such as recalling their representatives through constitutional means, physically protesting locally the actions and conduct of their representatives letting them know they’re watching them or voting them out as was seen in the FCT during the 2023 elections,” Ebireri said.
Kehinde Ogunyale tells stories by using data to hold power into account. You can send him a mail at jameskennyogunyale@gmail or Twitter: Prof_KennyJames | LinkedIn: Kehinde Ogunyale