LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) The Senate, on wednesday, March 12 2024, suspended Senator Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District for three months.
Ningi alleged that the 2024 budget was padded by N3 trillion, an allegation that resulted in his suspension.
This happened after a rowdy session that lasted for more than three hours on the floor of the chamber.
The upper legislative chamber suspended the lawmaker after a motion on privilege was moved by Solomon Adeola, senator representing Ogun west.
However, before his suspension, some Nigerian Senators had been suspended on the Senate floor for different degrees of offences.
READ ALSO: Ningi Resigns As Chairman Northern Senators Forum
Below is a list of senators who have been suspended on the floor of the Nigerian Senate:
1. Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South)
Senator Ndume was suspended in March 2017 for six months after he was indicted by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions for raising allegations against the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and Senator Dino Melaye.
Ndume had, on March 21, 2017, urged the Senate to investigate the allegations that an armoured Range Rover, reportedly belonging to Saraki, said to have cost N298m, but which the chamber later said cost $298,000, was seized by the Nigeria Customs Service.
The lawmaker also called on the upper chamber of the National Assembly to investigate the certificate scandal involving Senator Dino Melaye.
The decision to suspend Ndume was taken by the Senate after considering the report of its Committee on Ethics and Privileges which was directed to investigate the matter.
2. Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (Delta Central)
In 2018, Omo-Agege was suspended over his remarks that the amendment of the 2010 Electoral Act, which changes the sequence of elections set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is targeted at ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.
READ ALSO: Budget Padding: Northern Senators Disassociate Themselves From Ningi’s Claim
His action was said to have angered some of his colleagues, who pushed for his suspension.
The Senate Committee on Ethics had recommended that the senator be suspended for 181 legislative days but the chamber reduced it to 90 legislative days.
3. Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central)
Senator Ningi was suspended in March 2024 for alleging that the 2024 budget was padded by N3 trillion. His suspension, which was announced by the Senate, was a result of his violation of Senate rules and ethics.
The Senator also claimed that the 2024 budget passed is N25tn while the one being implemented by the Presidency is N28.7tn.
He subsequently resigned as chairman of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF).
4. Arthur Nzeribe (Imo, Orlu Constituency)
Nzeribe, a lawmaker from Imo state, was suspended indefinitely in November 2002 by then-Senate President Pius Anyim over allegations of N22 million fraud.
Nzeribe was planning an impeachment motion against the then-Senate president, Anyim. The Senate also unanimously passed a resolution, handing over the case to the police for detailed investigations.Â
READ ALSO: You Lied, Presidency Replies Senator Over 2024 Budget
In the motion, the Senate said that Nzeribe would remain suspended until he supplied evidence that he had purged himself of his anti-democratic, anti-senatorial and disreputable conduct.
He died in 2022 at the age of 83.
5. Joseph Waku (Benue)
Waku, a lawmaker from Benue state, was suspended by the senate in 2000 after he stirred a major controversy in the country.
The senator suggested that a military coup would be preferable to allowing former President Olusegun Obasanjo to continue as a dictator.
The former Senator said Obasanjo’s government was the worst Nigeria had ever produced. This led to widespread condemnation, and Waku was immediately suspended from the upper chamber.