BUDGET PADDING ALLEGATIONS: After suspending Jibrin, Dogara, 13 others now take battle to court

In a move to avoid trial, Speaker House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and 13 others, accused by Abdulmumin Jibrin of padding the 2016 budget, have asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to quash a suit against them by Jibrin.

The Rep members told the court that the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/595/2016 and filled by the former Chairman of Committee on Appropriation against them was nothing but frivolous and vexatious.

Cited as 1st to 14th defendants in the suit were the House of Reps. Clerk of the House, Dogara; Deputy Speaker, Hon. Yusuf Lasun; Chief Whip, Alhassan Doguwa; and the Minority Leader, Leo Ogor.

Others include Herman Hembe, Umar Mohammed Bago, Zakari Mohammed, Chike Okafor, Dan Asuquo, Jagaba Adams, Haliru Jika and Uzoma Abonta.

But the defendants in a preliminary objection they filed by their lawyer, Mr. Kalu Onuoha, questioned jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit. They further applied for an order striking out the statement of claim and the entire suit which according to them, revealed no reasonable cause of action.

They therefore, urged the court to dismiss the matter describing it as an abuse of the judicial process.

They argued, “The power of appropriation is conferred on the National Assembly as whole and as such no single member, including the plaintiff, is constitutionally vested with the power or authority to decide how much money to admit or which projects to include in the bill of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Read also: Dogara, not security invaded my office to destroy evidence, Jibrin alleges

“That the 2016 Appropriation Bill was passed by the House of Representatives and the National Assembly as mandated by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the standing orders of the House, and was authenticated pursuant to the Acts Authentication Act 2004, and was duly assented to by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in compliance with the Constitution and has therefore become the Appropriation Act 2016.

“That the issue of inflation of the 2016 Budget does not arise as the Appropriation Bill was passed by the House of Representatives pursuant to powers vested in the House by the Constitution and in line with the standing orders of the House and the Bill was duly certified pursuant to the provisions of the Acts Authentication Act before it was duly assented to by President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and it is now being executed as an Act of the National Assembly.”

“There is no controversy over the 2016 Appropriation Act as far as the House of Representatives is concerned as the same is being implemented”, they stated.

By Ebere Ndukwu …

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