JOSHUA EGBODO writes on the fresh fight between Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and Abdulmumin Jubrin, former Chairman, Appropriation Committee of the House over allegations of sleaze relating to budget 2016 padding
All was well, or so it seemed between Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara and now, his erstwhile ally, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin. Jibrin was in the forefront of the Dogara for speakership campaign in defiance of their political party; the All Progressives Congress (APC’s) suggestion that incumbent Majority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila be made Speaker.
Jibrin who was among the first to declare for the speakership race in 2015 was later to attempt pitching his tent with the Gbajabiamila’s camp. His reported outrageous demand for the headship of two juicy committees of the House; Appropriation and Finance to be collapsed into one, and the subsequent rejection by the camp brought him into the Dogara’s fold.
He was very visible in the campaign for Dogara’s emergence, even in the face of threats from the APC, and daring all consequences moved motion for the nomination of the incumbent Speaker, on the day the House was inaugurated.
The smooth relationship was however broken in the wake of the 2016 budgeting process. Jibrin was accused of allocating projects worth about four billion Naira to his Bebeji Federal Constituency of Kano State, as well as carrying out the process without consultation with the leadership of the House, as well as his other colleagues in the Committee on Appropriations.
The lawmaker whose action drew the irk of his colleagues was later at a closed door session gagged from speaking to the media since all concerning the budget process had gone beyond his Committee’s level. Later discoveries were also some inconsistencies that prompted President Muhamadu Buahri to withheld assent to the bill.
It was in the course of reviewing the details that the said padding were discovered.
The anger of members against Jibrin was so rife that he was not even allowed to make contributions to debate on any other matter, even beyond the budget bill. This was to continue until the debate on a proposed controversial bill to grant immunity to presiding officers of the National and state Houses of Assembly, during which Jibrin sternly opposed the proposal.
The action to many, did not went down well with Dogara who, to many wanted the bill passed, and they said he was no longer disposed to keeping his erstwhile ally any longer in his fold.
Information therefore were that it was far concluded, that on the eve of the day the House was to proceed on its annual long recess, Jibrin would be sacked from chairmanship of the Appropriation Committee. He however pulled a fast one by approaching the Speaker before the end of the day’s session to explain that he would no longer continue to head the panel. Dogara’s announcement later confirm the speculations that the leadership may decided his fate.
A visibly pained Jibrin at a media briefing later in the day, insisted however that he was not forced out, but rather quit on his own volition.
He also explained that he loved doing the job, but had to go for peace to reign, and for the committee to move on, but not without threatening to subsequently make public, his dossier of wrong doings by certain members of the body of principal officers. This was to be confirmed by him in about 24 hours later, as he in a statement, accused Speaker Dogara, Deputy Speaker Yussuff Lasun,Chief Whip, Ado Doguwa, and Minority Leader, Leo Ogor of also allocating projects worth billions of Naira to themselves, demanding that they have to resign.
“I strongly believe with every conviction that in cleaning up the budget system and considering what transpired during 2016 budget which I have all the facts documented, Speaker Dogara, Deputy Speaker Lasun, Whip Doguwa and minority Leader Leo Ogor should resign.
“These members of the body of principal officers were not comfortable with my independent disposition and my refusal to cover up their unilateral decision to allocate to themselves 40billion naira out of the 100billion allocated to the entire National Assembly. The four of them met and took that decision. In addition to billions of wasteful projects running over 20billion they allocated to their constituencies
“Mr Speaker, this issue will never be swept under the carpet. We are closing for recess with it and we shall commence the next session with this issue. This was the last option they have after every attempt to find something to nail me failed. Iam a very blunt person by nature. I don’t know how to pretend. I don’t do eye service neither will I ever be a sycophant. I don’t give returns. I just do my job dedicatedly. My offence was asserting my independence and insisting we do the right thing at all times…..”, Jibrin stated.
“After the submission of the first version of the budget which was returned by Mr President, I briefed members in executive session and told them as agreed at our pre budget meeting with chairmen and deputy chairmen of standing committees, we simply adopted their reports with little amendments. No body faulted my submission. Members insisted they must know how the 100billion was allocated. I told them the truth.
“Since after that meeting, Mr Speaker with the suport of the three other principal officers effectively blocked me from briefing members, ensured I was not at the last executive session and refused to investigate issues I raised that I believe must be addressed if we intend to build a better budget system for the House.
I gave Mr. speaker statistics of 2000 new projects introduced into the budget by less than 10 committee chairmen, without the knowledge of their committee members he did nothing about it because he was part of the mess, yet he is talking about improving the budget system. I did nothing wrong.
“I worked within the rules of the house and instructions of Mr Speaker. During the budget period, Mr President graciously granted myself and Sen. Goje audience.
It was a very good meeting. Speaker Dogara took it extremely personal that we saw the President without his knowledge and went on to scuttle all our efforts to help the president during the budget process because he wants to be seen by the president as the only good man”, Jibrin stated among other allegations.
The House in its official reaction through its spokesman, Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas however dismissed Jibrin’s assertions as mere distraction, and wondered he waited this long to make public, all the facts he claimed to have. Dogara also dismissed the action as some sort of play he was not ready to partake of.
Ogor was also quoted in media reports to have equally dismissed same. “Those are fabricated stories and the facts are in the budget I think this is coming from somebody who is a little bit upset, who doesn’t know his left from his right. It is unfortunate but I don’t want to go into altercation with him.
“At the appropriate time, when we resume on the floor we will speak, but I can assure you that they are all bunch of lies and there is nothing in it. I am not going to waste my time responding to an issue I consider in consideration. You can read the lines, he has actually lost his committee.mWhy didn’t he make available these allegations all along? Those are the questions you need to answer,” Ogor was quoted.
But Jibrin insisted that he stood by his words, stressing that he was been haunted, even by security agents. “I am compelled again for the purpose of emphasis to state categorically clear that my allegations are against the quartet of Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Speaker Yusuf Lasun, House Whip Alhassan Doguwa and Minority Leader Leo Ogor not the Honourable House as an institution, nor other members of the body of principal officers.
The other members of the body of principal officers were to the best of my knowledge completely excluded from decisions on the 2016 budget and the budget inputs inserted on their names were exclusively carried out by these QUARTET.
“I have to state this very clearly because these QUARTET have resorted to desperate moves to drag the entire House of Representatives into the case of gross abuse of office I have leveled against them as individual Presiding and Principal officers of the House.
This is clearly a mischievous move to set me on collision with the entire house,” explaining that “Until yesterday (Sunday), the police were laying siege by my house blocking the entrance and exit shouting that they want budget documents….”
From all indications, it appeared the battle lines have been drawn. Similar fights against the leadership, or any among same in the past usually end up consuming the whistleblower. Analysts are therefore skeptical on whether Jibrin would be able to carry on the fight. He has though vowed not to relent, even as the House is on break. The worries are that he may after all, be victim of his own antics.
