From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, to step aside, immediately, to allow for an independent investigation of alleged padding of the 2024 budget with N3.7 billion for “non-existent” projects.

The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, also asked Akpabio to report to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to account for his stewardship as governor of Akwa Ibom State.

It also challenged the Senate President to speak out on the reported N86 billion contract scam in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) during his tenure as the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.

The opposition party described the suspension of Senator Abdul Ningi as a desperate move to  suppress investigation into the issue.

“Moreover, the frustration of investigation by the APC Senate leadership further confirms PDP’s repeated alert that prominent APC officials in the National Assembly and a top official in the Presidency have been using ministers and other government functionaries to siphon budgeted funds from the national coffers.

“We ask, why did the APC leadership in the Senate not refer the matter to the appropriate Senate Standing Committee for an open investigation in line with the extant Rules of the Senate? What is the APC Senate leadership afraid of and what is it hiding from Nigerians?

“It is even more absurd that instead of recusing himself, the Senate President sat as a judge in the matter; a situation that has the capacity to bring the institution of the Senate to further public disrepute.

“The widely condemned suspension of Senator Ningi does not provide answers to the budget padding allegation.. . Our Party, therefore, stands with Senator Ningi for his courage in seeking probity and accountability in the polity.

“What Nigerians expect at this moment is for the Senate President to come clean by stepping aside, allowing for an independent investigation into the budget padding allegation as well as clearing his name at the EFCC… “