The last is yet to be heard on the lingering crisis rocking the House of Representatives, as Abdulmumin Jibrin, the ousted chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, solicited the support of other lawmakers in the “patriotic task of salvaging our country from the chronic danger and destructive element of corruption.”
Jibrin gave the charge via a 17-page letter dated 14th September, 2016 and sent to each of the 360 members of the House ahead of Tuesday, 20th September resumption.
The lawmaker who emphasised the need for the removal of the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara and three other principals who allegedly spearheaded the padding of the 2016 budget, urged that “those who commit offense must be punished. The institution of the House shall stand beyond any individual! How we handle this matter is a litmus test for the House of Representatives.
“If we can not deal decisively with allegations of corruption within the house and ensure that justice is served irrespective of who is involved, we would have lost the moral ground to deal with corruption outside the house which constitute an important part of our responsibility.
“This will create a huge impediment to discharging our functions. We must not lead ourselves into such destructive trap. Our Constituents are watching, Nigerians are watching and the world is watching!
They have become a baggage that should be offloaded before they weigh down the House. From every part of Nigeria and the world, that is the opinion of people. The House must act very quickly and decisively. This case is the most important matter of urgent importance in the history of the House.
While warning his colleagues not to take Nigerians for granted, he emphasised the urgent need to dispense with the scandal “as a first line charge in the House before proceeding with any business of the House. Anything short will send a wrong signal to the public that the whole House is an accomplice in a crime obviously committed by the Speaker and few corrupt members.”
In the bid to actualise thus, he urged other lawmakers to “direct Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Speaker Yusuf Lasun, Whip Alhassan Doguwa and Minority Leader Leo Ogor to step down immediately to allow for a free and fair investigation without interference as they cannot be judges in their own matters.
“This will ensure that the needed sanity and conducive atmosphere that will free the House from an impending suffocation returns to facilitate the commencement of legislative work with credibility.
“To nominate a Speaker Pro Tempore to take over as Presiding Officer with immediate effect.
“The Speaker Pro Tempore should constitute an Adhoc Committee to investigate this allegations in collaboration with the on-going external investigation by the anti-graft agencies. This has become necessary because from some public and private comments made by the incumbent Chairman of the Ethics and Privilege Committee, he has become an interested party in the matter and his ability to be impartial is in doubt. Also some of the members, including myself, who sit as members of the committee are interested party in the matter.
“To discuss with the Executive Arm and in the spirit of justice, fairness and equity to return the N100 billion constituency project component of the budget under any of our laws so that all stolen money can be returned particularly the 40 billion naira and equitably distributed to all constituencies. This is possible especially that the 2016 budget will run until May 2017.”
In the bid to unravel the issues, Jibrin offered “to identify all the fraudulent insertions by Speaker Dogara, Lasun, Doguwa, Ogor and others running into billions in the budget so that they can be removed. We have different laws under which that can be done. This will salvage the image of the House and reduce the financial pressure on the budget in the face of the current revenue challenges
“Immediate implementation of internal reform of the activities of the House to include management of our finances, budget process, transparency and implementation of e-parliament among others. I will share with you a comprehensive memo containing suggestions I have made in this regard.
“In the face of an on-going litigation, the House should revisit the House rules immediately and remove all draconian clauses.”
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