Politics
Budget Padding: Presidential committee invites Jibrin
The budget padding allegations against the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and three other principal officers of the House, has received the attention of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption.
The committee has invited the former the former Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin, to appear before it.
The committee also directed Jibrin to submit a detailed petition on his ‘budget padding’ allegations against Dogara, and the three other principal officers.
It would be recalled that Jibrin, who was sacked as the chairman of the Appropriations Committee by Dogara over alleged abuse of office, has variously accused the speaker, his deputy, Yussuff Lasun; the Chief Whip, Mr. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa; and the Minority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, of padding the 2016 budget to the tune of N40bn.
He also accused Dogara of fraudulent practices and influence peddling.
Read also: Ex-SGF Falae to be docked on money laundering charges
The committee, chaired by Prof. Itse Sagay, in a letter addressed to Jibrin by the Executive Secretary of the committee, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, asked Jibrin to visit its office on August 31 to make the submission.
The letter read in part: “This is to acknowledge the receipt of your petition and request to meet with the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption.
“You are hereby invited to meet with the Committee. Date, Wednesday 31st, August.”
Reacting to the invitation, the Kano State born lawmaker said the invitation is “another victory” for the anti-corruption crusade he launched against the principal officers soon after he was sacked on July 20 for “abusing” the 2016 budget.
He said: “In another victory for my journey to ensure that justice is served on Speaker Dogara, Lasun, Doguwa, Ogor and nine other members, I have received official invitation from Prof. Itse Sagay SAN, Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption to make a comprehensive presentation to the committee on the allegations I raised against Mr. Speaker and others and discuss strategies on how to achieve results.”
By Timothy Enietan-Matthews…
RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...