Jibrin approaches EFCC to probe Dogara

Sacked chairman of the House of Representatives Appropriation Committee, Abdulmumini Jibrin, said he has approach the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe Speaker Yakubu Dogara and three other principal officers over his allegation of budget padding against them.

Reacting to claims by members of the committee that he abused the budgeting process, Jibrin denied excluding members during this year’s budgeting process.

He accused Dogara of bribing the nine members of the committee that participated at the press conference with $20, 000 each to malign his character, saying the Speaker and principal officers of the House have lost the moral grounds to clings to power.

He disclosed that he has officially approached the EFFC and the ICPC to probe Dogara and the three other principal officers.

“This is a defining moment for the House. It will never be business as usual.

“First, only nine out of the 40 committee members agreed to participate in such a press conference after collecting $20,000 each distributed to them yesterday at the Speaker’s residence by his Deputy Chief of Staff, CID Maduabum.

“The same Chris Azubogu (you will remember his history with Hembe in the 7th Assembly), who was used to organise the press conference was clearly on camera, almost crying at the press conference, where I announced my resignation.

“It took couple of minutes before I could calm him down and get him seated for me to commence the event. See attached documents showing his greedy demands for insertions of 111 projects into the budget, which I turned down. You can imagine the pressure I went through.

“The nine of them are a disgraced to their constituents.

“On the lies that I never conferred with committee members or excluded them, here is the fact. The members of the committee were fully carried along, except those periods that the quartet of Dogara and others took away the entire secretariat from me.

“When the Appropriation Bill passed second reading and is referred to the committee, a meeting with standing committee chairmen, their deputies and principal officers is usually held to discuss the guidelines for the committee work.

“We held that meeting on Wednesday, January 27, with Mr. Speaker in attendance (see attached for document showing agenda of meeting and guidelines provided to standing committees).

“The 40 members of the Appropriation Committee are grouped into sub-committees and allocated a number of standing committees to supervise.

“Their role is so important that they must first agree with the report of the various standing committees they supervised before the report of such committees are considered, deliberated and adopted by the appropriation committee. The implication of that process is that every member participated and endorsed the reports.

“God so kind, the entire session was recorded publicly. I will release the videos, so that my colleagues and the general public will see videos of appropriation members in action. And the nine members of the committee with short memory will be reminded.

“No ANY report of a standing committee was received without the approval of members of Appropriation Committee (See attached for document showing full list of members of appropriation committee, distribution into sub-committees, secretary of each subcommittee, contacts and meeting rooms).”

He continued: “Interestingly, the distribution and allocations was done by this same deputy chairman of mine. Where is his honour?

“Again, they tried to drag the entire House and body of principal officers into this matter. I have stated categorically clear severally that my allegations are not against the House as an institution or the entire body of principal officers, but specifically on Dogara; Deputy Speaker, Yusuf Lasun; Whip, Alhassan Doguwa; Minority Leader, Leo Ogor; and a few other members.

“It is also a blatant lie that I disappeared. I was always at home since we were on a short break. Even more shocking is the fact that Azubogu, who was regularly at my home during that period and always enjoying his favourite wheat and vegetable soup, can go on national television for a price of $20,000 to tell such shameful lies.

“Well, CCTV doesn’t tell lies. The period that my colleagues didn’t see me was the two occasions that Dogara and the others took away my secretariat. At least, now you know that your budget was with Mr. Speaker, not me.

“On the issue of pressure by members against me, I have explained that countless times. Who can blame them when they do not have the facts of the matter? All they know and hear is Jibrin. This is in addition to a well-orchestrated blackmail by Dogara and others to spread falsehood and effectively block me from briefing members.

“The conspiracy of silence by the few committee chairmen, who are culprits, didn’t help my case. Well, now the whole members are getting to know what transpired.

“The contradictions in all your statements are too much. Here, you are talking about sack. What do we believe after the Speaker first admit that I resigned.

“Again, on one hand, you say Jibrin padded the budget, on the other hand, you say nothing like padding in the entire budget. Which do you want us to believe?

“Yes, we have complete powers of appropriation, but the intention of the constitution is not to say you should exercise that power in a senseless manner.

“The mother of all contradiction is when you said no breach was committed, so there must not be any external probe, but internal. So, if there has been no breach whatsoever in the budget process, why are you accusing me of committing so many of fence in that regard? And what do you intend to probe internally?

“My dear colleagues, you all know me very well and my bluntness and anti-corruption stance in the House. We will all die and meet our God. Feel free to play politics, but remember posterity will judge.”