THE immediate past Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, Abdulmunin Jibrin, is accusing Speaker Yakubu Dogara and three other principal officers of the House of harassing, monitoring and intimidating him following his allegation that they sought to pad this year’s budget to the tune of N40 billion.








His lawyers dispatched a petition to the Police and the Department of State Security (DSS) yesterday, protesting “subterranean and clandestine efforts” by Dogara, Deputy Speaker Yusuf Lasun, House Whip Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa and House Minority Leader Hon. Leo Ogor to “obstruct justice.”


Ogor, responding to Jibrin’s claim about involvement in budget padding, dismissed it as cheap blackmail.


Members of the House were divided yesterday on what position to take on the issue.


Some asked the four principal officers to step aside while the matter is investigated while others called for proof from Jibrin, failing which he should be sanctioned.


Jibrin said he stood firmly by his allegations and will prove same at the appropriate time.


Messrs Hammart & Co, Law Bond Solicitors and Doka Chambers, in a petition on behalf of Jibrin to the IGP, said Dogara,Lasun, Doguwa and Ogor “ have resorted to blackmail our client into silence and to further harass his person and family using the instrument of the obstructive coercion and perversion of due process by deploying, albeit illegally some elements of the Nigeria Police.


“We now have it on good authority that these quartet acting in concert are at the moment using some elements within the police to monitor, harass, intimidate and hound our client into an unwarranted detention with the purpose of inhibiting his right to move freely and to express himself as contained in Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).


“The purpose of their antics is to upturn the narrative and paint our client as the black sheep in the flock, and cleverly presenting themselves as transparent angels.”


They advised the police and other security agencies “not to allow themselves (security agencies) to be used to execute the personal objectives of these quartet; more so appropriate legal action has been taken by our client, as a law abiding citizen, to protect his fundamental rights as guaranteed by our laws.”


They also warned the quartet ”not to descend to the narrow aim of dragging the institution of the House of Representatives into their personal fight and to note that by virtue of the institution he leads and as a lawyer, he should act within the confines of the Rule of Law and allow the House of Representatives to institute a special investigation into this matter where our client will have the opportunity earlier denied him by the quartet to testify and provide evidence against them because he who comes to equity must come with clean hands.”


Some Representatives who spoke on the condition that their names would not be mentioned branded Jibrin an angry man who wants to pull the establishment down because he was removed as chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, while others said the allegation was too heavy to be left uninvestigated.


“There is a need to investigate the allegation because it is a very serious one. We are talking about fighting corruption in line with the policy of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, and the House has always touted this,” one Representative said.


“This is the time to show the world that we are serious about it. If Jibrin has proof as he said, he should not hesitate to bring it forward.


“In the interim, I think the Speaker should also allow the issue be investigated. He should step aside and allow the Ethics and Privileges Committee, or an adhoc committee investigate.


“It will do him and the other accused principal officers a lot of good to be proven innocent. It should not be waved aside or swept under the carpet,” the member from the South- west said.


Another member from the South- South likened Jibrin’s allegation to that made by the former Ambassador of the United States, Mr.James Entwistle, about sexual misconduct against three members of the House.


He said: ”Because of the seriousness of the allegation and the manner it affects the reputation of the House and Nigeria as a whole, the Speaker constituted a joint committee to investigate. The same thing is expected here.


“The situation is already bad enough as Nigerians believe lawmakers are corrupt. This would make matters worse. It might come to a time when our constituents begin to stone us believing the N40 billion was in cash and shared amongst members. This must be sorted out.


“But if the former Chairman of Appropriations Committee is found to be lying, or does not have proof, then a commensurate punishment in the House Rules should be brought to bear on him accordingly.”


The Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, in his response to the allegation, called Jibrin’s allegation cheap blackmail.


He said: “Those are fabricated stories and the facts are in the budget.


“I think this is coming from somebody who is a little bit upset, who doesn’t know his left from his right. It is unfortunate, but I don’t want to go into altercation with him.


“At the appropriate time, when we resume on the floor, we will speak, but I can assure you that they are all a bunch of lies and there is nothing in it.


“You can read the lines, he has actually lost his committee.


“Why didn’t he make available this allegation all along? Those are the questions you need to answer.


“He was the one that addressed the issue of this budget on Channels and he accused the Presidency and the executive in respect of issues that bother on the budget.


“Today, he is singing a different tune, and I think he is good at singing different tunes anyway. So like I said I am not going to go into any altercation with somebody I consider not a serious person.


“I am not going to waste my time over that issue and what he has said are all lies and this kind of blackmail doesn’t work with the likes of Leo Ogor, so you see he is just wasting his time.”

http://.com/budget-padding-jibrin-writes-igp-dss/

Lalasticlala, mynd44

These people have no shame. Always bringing disrepute to Nigeria.

The police and DSS should arrest and detain the two of them. AbdulMumin was aware of the padding and he didn't do anything which makes him complicit in the act. He was aiding and abetting criminal acts of the speaker. He only spoke out when he was booted out. Thieves, criminals, barawo, banza, shege, ole, olosha, jaguda, ndi ara.

I like this drama

abeg you people should keep slinging mud and exposing yourselves to Nigerians.

I like this. One can only assume the level of rot this nation has witnessed over the years. If NDA can just cool down for a while and give this goverment a chance to reduce the dependency on oil so as to reduce the exploitation and exploration.

Truly, politicians UNITE only when they want to steal! No wonder they re fighting tooth and nail for legislative immunity...
Dogara is a pretentious idiot...Buhari should fear him more than saraki...All this happening because of june 9th, 2015 mishap