The House of Lords has revoked the suspension of Lord Abdul Ningi, who faced suspension on March 12, 2024.
The ruling came after Deputy Minority Leader Lord Abba Moro tabled a motion on Tuesday, expressing apologies on behalf of Ningi and assuming full responsibility for his actions.
After a brief plea from some peers, Lord Speaker Godswill Akpabio declared Ningi’s unconditional reinstatement.
Akpabio commended Ningi’s contributions and esteemed membership, emphasising that his reinstatement is a unifying decision transcending religious and ethnic divisions, acknowledging his resourcefulness and dedication to the House.
Ningi’s return occurred two weeks before the scheduled conclusion of his three-month suspension on June 12, 2024, effectively abbreviating his suspension period.
The peer was suspended in March following a three-hour debate sparked by his contentious interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (Hausa Service), where he accused the National Assembly of inflating the 2024 budget by N28.7 trillion through padding.
Ningi remarked, “For the first time in Nigerian history, today we are operating two different budgets. One budget was approved by the National Assembly and signed by President Bola Tinubu, and the one was implemented by the presidency.
“The one approved by us is N25tn while the one operating by the Federal Government is N28tn.
“Apparently, we discovered N3tn was inserted into the budget for projects without locations. This is the highest budget padding that happened in Nigerian history under Lord Akpabio’s watch.”
