Reinstatement: I’m not in receipt of Ningi’s letter – Akpabio

Senate President Godswill Akpabio says he is yet to receive any letter from Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central) issuing a 7-day ultimatum to be reinstated.

He said the Senate as an institution, and not him as an individual, suspended the lawmaker, hence, he cannot issue a threat to him to reinstate him.

Ningi, who was suspended by the Senate two weeks ago, had issued a-seven-day ultimatum to Akpabio to reinstate him or risk legal action.

Ningi was suspended following his BBC Hausa interview in which he alleged that the budget for the 2024 fiscal year was padded to the tune of N3.7 billion.

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After a heated debate by Senators on the floor during plenary over the matter, Ningi was suspended for three months and asked to write a letter of apology to the Senate.

But in a letter written by his counsel, Femi Falana (SAN), Ningi accused Akpabio of being the accuser, the prosecutor and the judge in his own case in violation of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

In the said letter, Ningi accused Akpabio of causing him to be put on trial before the Senate on March 14, 2024 “contrary” to the provisions of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, 2018.

But speaking on behalf of the nation’s number threr citizen, Special Adviser to Akpabio on Media, Eseme Eyiboh, told Daily Trust in a telephone interview that the Senate, not Akpabio, suspended the Senator.

He said, “I am neither aware nor in receipt of any letter on the subject of your inquiry.

“However, it is important to note that,the Senate is an institution created by law and not by man. Distinguished Senator Ningi was suspended by the Senate through the enforcement of its extant rules and not by any individual. To associate any individual’s name with Senator Ningi’s travail is delusional and a red herring.”