Abuja, March 12, 2024 – Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe, a Senator representing Cross River North, on Tuesday alleged that some senators received as much as N500 million each in perks from the 2024 budget.
Jarigbe said this during the discussions on the allegation of budget padding made by Sen. Abdul Ningi during an interview with the BBC last weekend.
Jarigbe said all senators were guilty of such practice, alleging that some senior senators received N500 million each from the 2024 appropriation bill.
“If we want to go into this issue, all of us are culpable. Some senators here, so called senior senators, got N500 million each.
“I am a ranking senator. I didn’t get. Did I go to the press? We don’t have to go into those issues,” he said.
Ningi, had during the interview with the BBC, accused the Senate of paddling the 2024 budget, saying the National Assembly added an extra N3.7 billion to the initial budget.
He, however, denied making any allegations against the president.
Ningi said he never said that the president was running two budgets, but that there was N3.7 trillion yet to be accounted for.
“Let me concur to about 80% of the translation read out by Senator Yayi. I think they have done a fair job, except on some issues they could not understand.
“The beginning of this brouhaha started with this text. Senator Abdu Ningi is purported to be the author of this document.
“Let me, for the avoidance of doubt, I have never issued a statement of this nature to anybody anywhere and anytime.
“I want members of this Senate to record it, this is a fake observation that was forwarded, I do not know the author of this,” he had said. (GBN)
