Budget Padding Saga: Jibrin Talks Tough; Heads To Court Over 180-Day Suspension.

   

Abdulmumin Jibrin, the embattled, former Chairman, Appropriations Committee, has threatened to go to court for redress after the suspension slammed on him by the House of Representatives, on Wednesday night.

The House had yesterday afternoon slammed 180 legislative days  suspension on Mr. Jibrin after being found guilty of violating ethics and privileges of lawmakers.

The suspension also extended to him being banned from holding any position of responsibility in the House for the rest of the 8th National Assembly.

Jibrin is accused of stirring controversies and subjecting the House to public scrutiny since July, which, according to the committee, amounted to calculated campaign of calumny, denigration of the House and publication of false and scandalous statements with libellous, contemptuous and defamatory contents in various media platforms.

The suspended lawmaker had accused the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara; the Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Lasun; Whip, Alhassan Doguwa, and Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, alongside some committee chairmen of budget fraud.

The committee said from its findings, the fact that Jibrin made the statements credited to him was not in doubt.

It also said, “The committee found that those statements were broad sweeping without proof; consequently the committee views those statements as injurious, scandalous and denigrating to the House as an institution.

“…That the committee considers that the actions of Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, taken as a whole, amount to an infraction of Sections 21 and 24 of the Legislative Houses (Power and Privileges) Act and the rules of the House.

“The committee finds that Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin breached the practices, precedents and usages of the House of Representatives in that the House has established procedure for expressing and redressing grievances which he didn’t follow.”

In addition, he was told that he would tender a written apology to the House on resumption from suspension.

However, responding in utter defiance, the lawmaker said he had done nothing wrong and, as such, will not apologize.

“Let me say, I will never ever apologise to anybody in the House of Representatives,” Mr. Jibrin said in a statement. “I did not commit any offence.”

Jibrin said the entire process leading to his suspension was flawed and as far as he was concerned, “it is a non-issue and complete nonsense and it is not going to stand anywhere in the world.

“As you are aware, the matter is a subject of litigation, I have instructed my lawyer, Femi Falana SAN, to file charges of contempt against Speaker Dogara and of course the House of Representatives and I’m sure the matter will move over to the judiciary and decision will be taken. I’m pretty sure it will be in my favour.”

Mr. Jibrin is the first lawmaker to be suspended since 2010 when Dino Melaye and 10 others were found guilty of breaching House ethics and privileges.