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Budget padding: Gbajabiamila submits self to Police for probe 

By Terhemba Daka, Abuja 
20 August 2016   |   2:46 am
In a bid to clear his name in the allegations of padding in this year’s budget, Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has submitted himself for investigation by the Police.
Femi Gbajabiamila

Femi Gbajabiamila

In a bid to clear his name in the allegations of padding in this year’s budget, Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has submitted himself for investigation by the Police.

Gbajabiamila, who disclosed that he returned to the country on Thursday after a three-week break, in a statement explained that he submitted himself to the authorities yesterday on his own volition for investigation, even though no petition has been filed against him by the sacked Appropriation Committee Chairman, Abdulmumini Jibrin.

He stated: “I have just this afternoon met with the Police authorities for a proper and thorough investigation of my role, if any, in this whole bizzare episode.

“This is important to me, as insinuations have been made from many quarters that I, along with others, were sponsoring Jibrin.”

The statement continued: “I called the Speaker a day before my return to urgently fix a Principal Officers meeting, so we could address the several allegations made by Jibrin.

“At the meeting, Speaker Dogara, Deputy Speaker Lasun, Chief Whip Ado Doguwa and Minority Leader Leo Ogor passionately and vigorously clearly stated their innocence.

“A prepared text was read and we all agreed to sign. For me, as the Leader of the House, I felt it was important to give them the benefit of doubt, which in any case is what our constitution says. The decision to relieve Jibrin was, indeed, a collective decision of which I was a part.

“However, I gave a caveat before the press release was signed. I made it clear to my colleagues in the leadership that because somehow my name had been sullied in all of this and fake documents and publications had been put out there in traditional and social media, which stated I was also involved in the so-called padding of the budget, I would need to clear my name and that even though no petition was filed against me by Jibrin and no invitation was extended to me by the Police, I would be submitting myself, on my own volition, to the Police for investigation.”

He added: “This is important to me, as insinuations have been made from many quarters that I, along with others, were sponsoring Jibrin.

“I have just this afternoon met with the Police authorities for a proper and thorough investigation of my role, if any, in this whole bizzare episode.”

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