The Senate during the plenary on Tuesday, erupted into chaos following Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe’s revelation that all senior senators received a hefty sum of N500 million.
This bombshell was dropped during a heated debate initiated by Senator Olamilekan Adeola regarding a breach of privilege.
Adeola’s motion was triggered by Senator Abdul Ningi’s controversial statements to the British Broadcasting Corporation, where he alleged a significant disparity between the approved national budget and the one being implemented by the Presidency.
Ningi’s claims sparked outrage, especially his assertion that an additional ₦3 trillion had been inserted into the budget without proper allocation. He called for a meeting with President Tinubu to address the issue, emphasizing its gravity and national implications.
He stated, “The one approved by us is ₦25tn while the one operating by the Federal Government is ₦28tn.
“Apparently, we discovered ₦3tn was inserted into the budgets for projects without locations. This is the highest budget padding that happened in Nigerian history under Senator Akpabio’s watch.”
Senator Jarigbe intervened during the discussion, clarifying that the missing ₦3.7 trillion, as alleged by Senator Ningi, had been accounted for under Government Owned Enterprises and first-line charges.
However, he couldn’t resist adding a surprising detail: all senior senators had supposedly received N500 million each, although he personally had not.
This revelation sent shockwaves through the Senate, causing an uproar and plunging the session into disarray.