In less than two days since the suspended Senator Abdul Ningi, of Bauchi Central Senatorial Zone wrote to the Senate to reinstate him with seven days or face litigation, the Senate President Godswill Akpabio is heard saying Ningi will soon join them in the Senate.
He assured that the matter would be resolved like a family affair and hopefully Ningi would return to the National Assembly to take his seat soon.
“It is a parliamentary decision. I have not seen the letter yet. But Senator Ningi is one of us. I mean what is suspension?
“I believe that in a few days, he will join us. So, there is no problem. It would be resolved amicably. The Senate is a family,” Akpabio said.
It would be recalled that Sen. Ningi was suspended from the Senate for accusing the Assembly of budget padding. The budget passed by the Assembly was N25 trillion while N28.7 trillion is being implemented by the presidency.
This did not go down well with the Senate and he was suspended for three months for breeching the integrity of the Senate, situation that raised questions from groups and individuals across the country.
The Senate President confirmed the possibility of lifting the suspension of Sen Ningi while responding to questions from newsmen on arrival from the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Senate is responding barely 24 hours after the embattled Senator gave a seven days ultimatum for the Senate to reinstate him or face litigation.
This is contained in a letter written by his Counsel, Femi Falana SAN, on Thursday, and copied to the presidency as well as the Senate President.
Ningi, through his lawyer, Falana contended that the process of his suspension was faulty. His letter to the Senate President was received at the Senate President’s office on Wednesday.
Falana, in the letter, said the Senate President acted as the accuser, prosecutor and judge in the case, saying this was in utter violation of the provisions of Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution.”
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria also argued that apart from violating Ningi’s fundamental right to a fair hearing, the Senate also violated the right of the people of the Bauchi Central Senatorial District to representation in the Senate for three months.