Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) described as a cover-up the suspension slammed on Senator Abdul Ningi by the Godswill Akpabio-led senate over his allegation that the 2024 budget was padded with over N3 trillion by the senate.
HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said the suspension was hasty and would inevitably be interpreted as a negative sign that the National Assembly that ought to be the bastion of civil democracy is being turned into a secret society. It said this was because the senators failed to conduct a publicly advertised probe of the damaging allegations made by Ningi.
HURIWA condemned the senators for behaving like political thugs and for being indecorous during the session leading to the suspension of Ningi.
The statement said, “The senate ought to have set up a committee to investigate the allegations and allow the members of the Nigerian public to follow up the process so as to get to the very roots of it with a view to ascertaining the veracity or otherwise of such an extensively damaging allegation.
“But, instead, the senate used legislative blackmail, sledgehammer and threats to shut up Senator Abdul Ningi and we, the people of Nigeria, think that this is an attempt to hide the truth from us. This is unconstitutional and undemocratic.”
Deji Elumoye, Chuks Okocha and Sunday Aborisade
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