Budget padding: Appropriation committee disowns Jibrin  

Sacked former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin has been left in the cold, as members of the committee he formally chaired,Friday, washed their hands of the allegations he levelled against the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara and three principal officers of the House.

 

The committee said Jibrin is on his own, accusing the Kano State born lawmaker of solely working on the budget with his consultants without the input of other members of the committee.

 

The Deputy Chairman of the committee, Hon. Chris Azubuogu, while speaking with reporters in Abuja, also said that Jibrin’s allegations against the speaker were baseless.

 

It would be recalled that Jibrin had accused the speaker and three other principal officers of the House of padding the budget to the tune of N40bn. He also said he was relieved of his position as the chairman of the Committee on Appropriation because of his refusal to accommodate the requests made by the speaker to be included in the 2016 budget.

“As members of the Committee on Appropriation, we want to state categorically clear that the ousted chairman’s action does not in any way reflect the position of the committee.

“We wish to state that we totally dissociate ourselves from the entire calculated plot to pull down the integrity of the leadership and members of the 8th House of Representatives,’’ Azubuogu said.

Read also: Makarfi damns ‘strange ruling’, says no going back on PDP convention

According to Azubuogu, after collating reports of the budget from various standing committees of the house, Jubrin failed to present the report to the committee for deliberation.

“He unilaterally took the entire budget to a hideout with his consultant without the consent of the committee.

“That was the last time the committee saw the budget, only for Jubrin to resurface about three weeks later, with a report purported to have come from the committee.

“Consequently, members approached Mr Speaker with a complaint and a demand to remove Jibrin as the Chairman of the Committee.’’

He also said that the confrontational attitude of Jibrin angered members to request for his urgent removal from office.

Speaking on the call for independent investigation into the allegations, Azubuogu said there was no breach in the appropriation process that would warrant any external interference.

“Jibrin is on his own and we as members of the Committee on Appropriation, saddled with the responsibility of treating the 2016 and subsequent national budget are solidly in support of Dogara and other principal officers of the House of Representatives.

“We, therefore, request that Jibrin should tow the path of honour and conduct himself in a manner befitting an honourable member of the House of Representatives,’’ Azubuogu said.

By Timothy Enietan-Matthews