Damilola Oyedele in Abuja
The sacked Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Jibrin Abdulmumin, has disclosed his intentions to brief the British, American, German and French embassies on the allegations of budget ‘padding’ by the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara and three other principal officers.
In a statement yesterday, Andulmumin also disclosed that he had sent a letter to the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-corruption requesting for an appointment to make a detail presentation on all the allegations.
“The utterances of Dogara in the last few days like his public pronouncement that padding is not an offense has clearly confirmed my innocence. I have therefore petitioned the Public Complain Commission and National Human Right Commission (NHRC) to enforce and protect my fundamental human right. Though as Speaker, he has the powers to sack committee chairmen but that must be done with justice, fairness and a huge sense of responsibility,” he said.
The embattled lawmaker accused Dogara of using his office to obstruct investigation into the allegations of fraud.
“I also heard from good authority that a close associate of his who is Chief Executive of a well known federal government agencies has been approaching members with offer of money to support Dogara,” Abdulmumin alleged.
Meanwhile, the Chief Whip of the House, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, has described the sustained barrage of accusations against some leaders of the lower chamber by Abdulmumin as an indication that he has lost out in the executive arm of government and in the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Doguwa who is also from Kano State like Abdulmumin, has however pledged to take legal action to seek redress for maligning and defamation of character, by Abdulmumin.
Abdulmumin had accused Doguwa, alongside the Dogara, Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Sulaimon Lasun and Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, of corruption, abuse of office and allocating to themselves the sum of N40billion out of the N100 billion appropriated for the National Assembly.
In a statement issued yesterday, Doguwa said Abdulmumin’s legal strategy to protect himself from possible sanctions in the House, is sheer cowardice and act of escapism, which would fail.
“Our respected judiciary would never fall victim of his misrepresentations and blackmail,” Doguwa said.
“He has also succeeded in deliberately subjecting the institution of the National Assembly to grievous disrepute and institutional damage, which apparently contravened our extant internal standing rules and specifically Section 24 and 33 of the Legislative Houses Powers and Privileges Act,” he said.
“I finally want to categorically state that whichever steps the House may take against Jibrin on resumption in September, I, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, would in my personal capacity definitely charge Jibrin to court for slander. He has maligned and defamed my hard-earned reputation and integrity. He has also put to disrepute my hitherto sound and credible family name. No matter what the House decides on Jibrin, I will never sleep on my responsibility to defend/protect my good name and seek redress through our conventional courts,” the Chief Whip said.
