Speakership: Abdulmumuni Jibrin twice lucky?

The story of the emergence of immediate past Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, and his successor, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, will be incomplete without adequate mention of the exploits of Hon. Abdulmumuni Jibrin, representing Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency of Kano state. IDRIS OMOLABAKE writes.

Abdulmumin Jibrin is a Nigerian politician, businessman and academic. He was born in Kano. He is an All Progressives Congress (APC) member representing Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency of Kano state.

The man

Abdulmumuni Jibrin is a Nigerian politician, businessman and academic. He is a 3rd term member of the House of Representatives from Kofa, Bebeji LG, Kano state.

The 42-year-old politician, who at various times was chairman, House Committee on Finance; Appropriation; and Land Transport, with oversight on Nigeria’s revenue, expenditure, railways and rail projects, respectively, has succeeded in ‘installing’ two different speakers of the House of Representatives in two different circumstances. The first was through a rebellion against the establishment; and the other in enforcing the position of same establishment.

He is a globally trained business executive, and academic turned politician. He holds a BSc, MSc, and PhD in Politics, Diplomacy, and International Relations, from University of Abuja, and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

He was at various times trained at the London Business School, Harvard Business School, and SBS- Swiss Business School- Zurich Switzerland, where he obtained SEP, PLD and MBA respectively.

A consummate mobiliser, Abdulmumin was the director, Media and Strategic Communication of the Women and Youth Presidential Campaign Team and most recently, Director General, Femi Gbajabiamila for Speaker campaign council.

Jibrin is a public finance and foreign policy expert and has won numerous awards and he is a fellow of many professional bodies including the Chartered Institute of Finance and Control.

He is also a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International and holds the traditional title of Jarman Bebeji, conferred on him with the approval of the Kano Emirate Council, a title reserved for the courageous and generous.

Political voyage

Jibrin had been involved in national politics prior to his emergence on the federal parliamentary scene, especially during the presidential campaigns in 2003 and 2007.

In 2011, Jibrin won election to represent Kiru/Bebeji Federal constituency on the platform of the PDP, and later decamped to the APC in 2014.

It is worth noting that he led the first set of 37 lawmakers who defected in a massive swoop that shook the political landscape. Not surprisingly, he won re-election into the House under the new platform in 2015.

2015 Speakership

In 2015, the APC just like in 2019 zoned the position of Senate President to the North-east geo-political zone and specifically chose Ahmed Lawan while the post of Speaker which was zoned to the South-west favoured Gbajabiamila as the anointed candidate.

However, the rebellion against the party’s position led by immediate past Senate President, Bukola Saraki and the Equity Group in the House of Representatives, where Jibrin played prominent roles, eventually led to a defeat of the party’s choice at the Senate and the House. Suffice to say that it was same Jibrin who nominated Dogara for the post on that historic day thereby climaxing months of chaperoning an arduous campaign that eventually paid off.

Jibrin and his group were able to garner votes across the two political parties to pave the way for Dogara to emerge as speaker. After the election, he was offered the chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee of the House, a position that became the springboard to the travails that bedevilled him for much of that 8th Assembly.

Budget controversy and suspension

Jibrin’s journey into the wilderness was kicked off with his resignation as Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation as announced by the Speaker on Wednesday, July 20, 2016. He, however, described the speaker’s speech announcing his exit as the chairman of the committee as “a misrepresentation of the facts, false, mischievous, unfair, and a calculated attempt to bring his name to disrepute.”

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