I won’t Resign As Speaker – Dogara

Yakubu Dogara, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, on Friday, speaking with State House Correspondent shortly after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja, insisted that he would not resign from his position.

The Speaker described the current budget padding levelled against him as an offence, affirming that despite the many allegations against him and his office, he will remain in his position.

Recall that a member of the House, Jibrin had accused Dogara, his deputy, Yusuf Lasun; Chief Whip, Alhassan Ado Danguwa and Minority Leader, Leo Ogor of attempting to illegally insert over N40bn into the 2016 budget.

Since his initial allegation against the Speaker and other principal officers of the House, the lawmaker had continued to level more allegations on them.

Budget Padding: Speaker Dogara Hailed Over Jibrin’s Sack

The UK chapter of the Nigerians In the Diaspora Monitoring Group have accused Abdulmumin Jibrin, the former chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, of engaging in a media war with Hon. Yakubu Dogara, the speaker of the House of Representatives, as a ploy to gain sympathy of Nigerians after he was sacked for his role in the manipulation of the budget.

In an electronic message to journalists, the UK Representative of the group, Adeka Onyila said Speaker Dogara deserves commendation for sacking the former chairman, saying that singular action is in line with the anti corruption war of the current administration.

He accused Jibrin of attacking the leadership of the House as a form of defence, but warned that such antics has failed as Nigerians are now wiser.

Onyila said, "Instead of showing remorse as one would expect in 2016 Nigeria, he (Jibrin) went on denial – first he claimed he resigned and not sacked only for him to turn around and start making spurious accusations against others.

"We hereby call on Members of the House of Representatives, the disgruntled ones, to stop giving Nigeria a bad name abroad. We say this because we have observed with alarm that some of them are lining up behind Jibrin to back him against the house leadership when he should be censured. Such ridiculous support could only be driven by a desire to make political gains out of the lies cooked up by Jibrin to save his hide.

"We rather demand that the Speaker of the House, Honorable Yakubu Dogara should be commended for triggering the anti-corruption fight in the National Assembly and having the political will to challenge the status quo by relieving the former Appropriation Chairman of his post. Hon. Dogara deserves an award for sacking Jibrin since it is now clear that the action he took against his colleague saved the parliament and the ailing Nigerian economy from total collapse that would have been caused by global reaction to a country that would appear not to be interested in tackling graft."

He said, "All his gimmick of claiming he resigned as opposed to being sacked, his inglorious petitions to anticorruption agencies and the barrage of media propaganda are merely his own idea of acting fast to gain the sympathy of constituents and to avoid possible arrest with the consequent prosecution."

The group wondered why Jibrin will be the one petitioning the anti corruption agencies.

He said Jibrin must withdraw his so called petitions to the EFCC and the DSS so that neutral NGOs or lawmakers without vested interests should be the one to initiate the demand for investigation.

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Breaking News: APC Quizzes Jibrin Over Budget Padding Allegations

Dr Abdulmumuni Jibrin, sacked Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress APC are currently meeting over his claims that Speaker Yakubu Dogara padded the 2016 national budget to the tune of N40 billion.

Decked in a white flowing African robe (Kaftan), Jibrin arrived the secretariat around 2:09pm in a black land cruiser numbered, Abuja, BWA 768 AM.

He went straight into the office of Sen. Lawal Shuaibu, the Deputy National Chairman, North.

Recall that the party had earlier (Monday) written Mr Jibrin to appear before it by 2pm today. Journalists are for now barred from the meeting.

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N40bn 2016 Budget Padding: Arrest Dogara, Others – Jibrin Urges EFCC, ICPC

Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, a former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, speaking through his Twitter handle called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, to arrest the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara and three other principal officers of the Green Chambers for attempting to pad the 2016 Budget.

The former Appropriations Committee Chairman urged the anti-graft agencies to arrest and prosecute all principal officers of the House and other members of the House.

He said: “This is 24 hours after my lawyers requested the EFCC and ICPC to grant me a date and time to personally deliver my petition on Mr. Speaker and three others.

“EFCC and ICPC are yet to revert to me. I decided to go personally so that in addition to the petition I can provide some further insight to them.

“EFCC and ICPC must arrest the Speaker, the three others and few others members in my petition immediately.

“They are running to high places, looking for cover.”

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Dogara Denies Sharing $20,000 Each To Appropriations C’ttee Members

Hon. Yakubu Dogara, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, have denied the allegation by Hon Abdulmumin Jibrin, the former Chairman of Appropriation Committee, that he (Dogara) gave out $20,000 each to members of the appropriation committee where they accused Jibrin of single-handedly doctoring the 2016 budget.

Speaking through his Deputy Chief of Staff, CID Maduabum, the Speaker said he did not at any time meet or hand over any money of any sort to any member of the appropriation committee.

He said, "my attention has been drawn to a statement issued by the disgraced and sacked former chairman of appropriation committee, Abdulmumin Jibrin wherein he falsely, recklessly and maliciously claimed that I distributed $20,000 to each member of the committee to address the media where they stated their grouse against him.

"I wish to state that I did not at any time meet or hand over any money of any sort to any member of the House Appropriation Committee. This accusation is not only a lie but pure fiction, a figment of his imagination which can only come from a man whose soul is deeply corrupted.

"It is really shocking that this kind of despicable character could slip through the political process and become an honourable member of the House of Representatives, a highly respected institution where we all passed through.

"This has confirmed that Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin is a serial blackmailer, a man with the basest of motives whose sanity has become questionable."

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Reps Budget Padding Crisis Embarrassing To APC—Timi Frank

Comrade Timi Frank, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress APC, speaking with journalists Friday in Abuja described the ongoing budget-padding crisis in the House of Representatives as "highly embarrassing" to APC and the federal government.

Frank who regretted what he described as the inability of the Chief John Odigie-Oyegun led National Working Committee NWC of the party to stave off the wave of crisis afflicting the party called on the NWC to resign their position if they can no longer steer the ship of the party.

According to him, it is unfortunate that the crisis in the senate has not been resolved, saying in Kano, Kogi, Bayelsa and several other states, the situation is not any different.

"If the NWC of the party cannot do it, I call on the leaders of the party to wade in. By now, I expected that we would have summoned the parties involved in the dispute to hear their side and make the necessary interventions. That is when the party knows its job but as it is I do not know whether the party enjoys thriving in crisis. The situation in the House of Representatives is not just embarrassing to the house but to the party including the president, who ofcourse I want to succeed in his determination to make life worth living for Nigerians", he said.

He said the leadership of the party should resign if they cannot mitigate the series of crisis confronting the party. "I want to emphasize that this is not a personal attack on Oyegun or the leadership of the party but this is the reality", he stated.

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You’re A Rogue, I’ll Never Apologize – Jibrin Replies Dogara

Abdulmumin Jibrin, the former House of Representatives Chairman on Appropriation, in a statement vowed not to apologize to Speaker Yakubu Dogara, over several allegations of fraud he levelled against him and other top officers of the green chamber.

“Speaker Dogara has threatened legal action on me. Quite predictable. I know he will rush to court in order to invoke the house rules that matter in court can not be heard on the floor,” Jibrin said.

“He failed to realise that the law is not intended to protect corrupt people. It is such a shame. I have responded to their allegations rather than respond to mine, he is rushing to court. I stand by my allegations, I will not withdraw them.

“I am happy to announce that my lawyers have officially approached the EFCC and the ICPC towards working out a date for me to personally submit my petition against speaker Yakubu Dogara, deputy speaker, Yusuf Lasun, whip Alhassan Doguwa and minority leader Leo Ogor.

“I believe once a date is agreed with the anti-corruption agencies we would have begun the process of making these characters pay for abusing their office,” he said.

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Budget Padding Scandal Confirms My Earlier Position On National Assembly

Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo speaking with State House correspondents shortly after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday, has said that the revelation on the padding of the 2016 budget in the National Assembly goes to confirm his earlier position that lawmakers are “armed robbers and rogues.”

Obasanjo suggested that the best way out of the current mess was to ensure that only men of integrity are elected into the National Assembly.

It would be recalled that at a 2012 event in Lagos attended by two former Nigerian leaders, Yakubu Gowon and Ernest Shonekan, Obasanjo had described the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly as institutions filled with “rogues and armed robbers.”

The ex-president went on to tell the reporters who met with him at the Villa today that he was sure that the fresh revelation would make those who did not believe him when he made his first statement to do so now, stressing that there is no need to investigate the allegations and counter-allegations of the 2016 budget padding in the National Assembly.

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S H O C K E R: How 10 Standing Committees Inserted N284bn Projects In Budget – Jibrin Reveals

Abdulmumin Jibrin, the embattled former chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, in a statement in Abuja, gave a startling revelation on how 10 standing committees allegedly inserted constituency projects worth N284 billion into the 2016 budget without the knowledge of their members.

Jibrin alleged that the speaker, Yakubu Dogara, secretly persuaded him to smuggle N20 billion into the budget through Service Wide Vote, he also said that some cabals had hijacked the speaker to always do their bidding.

While exonerating the Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, and three other principal officers from the alleged scandal now rocking the padding of the 2016 budget by the House leadership, he however pointed accusing fingers at the speaker, his deputy, Yussuff Lasun; Chief Whip, Ado Doguwa and the Minority Leader, Leo Ogor.

Jibrin said: “I am compelled again for the purpose of emphasis to state categorically 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.

“I have to state this very clearly because this quartet has 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 a mischievous move to set me on collision with the entire house.

“They have also recruited four from the very few members of their cabal to use some elements of the Nigeria police to kidnap, harass, blackmail and intimidate me into silence. Until yesterday, the police were laying siege to my house, blocking the entrance and exit, shouting that they wanted budget documents.

“They embarrassed my entire family with a nursing mother and a seven-month-old baby that cried all night. The game plan was to arrest me and dump me in police net while a heavy media propaganda will be carried out to mislead the world that I have been sacked and police have picked me up as a culprit in 2016 budget.

"When ever I am released, an irreparable damage would have been done to my person that will stick for life.

“As God Almighty will have it, I had traveled out of town before they could execute their evil plan. God is always with the innocent. The members in the tick of this plot are Jagaba Adams, Jika both chairmen interior and police affairs respectively, Muhammed Bago, Muhammed Zakari and the last one I need not introduce him to Nigerians.

“During the budget period, when they discovered that I was not the kind of person they could use to perpetrate their illegality, Mr Speaker and the three other principal officers took away the entire Appropriation Committee secretariat to a secret location where all sort of insertions were made into the budget.

"The blackmail has always been, Abdul people will laugh at you if anything goes wrong between you and Dogara because of the lead role you played and the many toes you stepped on to get him elected. It’s been a painful experience.

“Again the secretariat was taken away from me on Speaker Dogara’s instruction for the second time to a location I didn't know and all sort of insertions into the budget were made and returned to me for signature.

"I said over my dead body! It was a massive crisis behind the scene until the early morning of the Friday that Mr President assented the budget. It was Sen Danjuma Goje that brokered a compromise that since the deputy speaker led the harmonization committee, he should also sign such that the harmonization committee will share responsibility with us.

"Senator Goje pleaded with me so hard all night and later shouted heavily at me reminding me that he was not talking to me as a senator but as a father. I cried heavily all night.

“When the budget harmonization committee, headed by Deputy Speaker Yusuf Lasun, gave out 80% concession across board to the executive demands during the harmonization negotiation, it was agreed that the remaining 20% should go to the entire NASS. The deputy speaker excused himself that he wanted to go and consult with Mr speaker.

“He came back after few hours and in an unprecedented display of greed, presented to me a hand written note distributing the remaining 20% to only principal officers. 70% of the 20% was reserved for Mr Speaker and himself, while the remaining 30% of the 20% went to other principal officers. I am sure he will recognize the hand writing when he sees it."

“Mr Speaker also directed me to create what I advised him will be a controversial line item under service wide vote to introduce about N20 billion projects using the name of NASS. He directed me to see a highly placed PDP politician which I did and collected the documents. I advised him repeatedly against it but he kept pressuring me until I bluntly told him I will not!

“When the Appropriation committee received all the budget reports from standing committees, an analysis was conducted. We discovered that about 10 of the 96 standing committees of the House introduced about 2,000 (two thousand) projects without the knowledge of their committee members, amounting to about N284 billion.’’

“I was alarmed. But I was cautious because at our pre budget meeting with the committee chairmen, I was clearly warned not to touch their budgets. I reported the matter to the speaker. He did nothing about it obviously because he was working behind the scene with the committee chairmen. That was the beginning of the whole budget problem from the side of House and the whole exercise had to go through several versions before it was passed.

“So, is it Abdul that introduced 2000 projects into budget worth 284 billion? But I quietly bore the pain and abuses from all over the country and continue to defend the committee inputs as a show of loyalty to the institution I represent which I so much love and still have many great minds in there. Apart from Chairman Agriculture Hon Mongunu who owned up and explained his inputs at the only executive session I was allowed to attend, the other few chairmen who loaded the budget kept quiet and watched me bashed from every angle by angry Nigerians.’’

Continuing, Jibrin said: “Speaker Dogara has completely derailed, remains clueless, keeps on with an unmatched ego and surely leading the House to the biggest scandal it may ever experience.

‘’He has failed to live above the fog in public duty and private thinking, a direct opposite of what my favorite American Poet, Josiah Gilbet Holland, prayed Lord to grant us leaders.

“All I am asking for is my right to be heard by my colleagues which they denied me. I am calling on my colleagues to plead with Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Lasun, Whip Doguwa and Minority leader Ogor to stop obstructing justice and allow me my right to be heard by the House.

‘’It is the House that will institute a special investigation on this matter to allow me testify and provide evidence before any other external action,” Jibrin said in the statement.

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REPS TO IGP: Fish Out Killers Of Plateau Monarch- Accuses Buhari of Complacency

The House of Representatives, have directed Ibrahim Idris, the Inspector General of Police, IGP, to apprehend those behind the gruesome murder of His Majesty, the Saf Ron Kulere, Paramount Ruler of Bokkos and Chairman, Council of Chiefs, Bokkos LGA.

Also, Plateau State caucus of the House of Representatives have accused President Buhari of complacency in the midst of gruesome murder of Nigerians, especially indigenes of Plateau State, alleging that there was a deliberate attempt to erase the people of Plateau State from the surface of the earth.

Solomon Bulus Maren, representing Mangu/Bokkos Federal Constituency of Plateau State, sponsored a motion on matter of national urgent importance said, “First, it was the Makai Forof, Dah Ali Magaji sometimes in January 2016, the second was the District Head of Manguna, Saf Anjong Adake who was the secretary to the council of Chiefs, Bokkos Local Government Area.

“And worst of it, is the one that occurred just yesterday (Monday), the head of the council and the paramount ruler of Bokkos people who was brutally killed by unscrupulous elements.”

He alleged that in all the cases mentioned above, there had been no security intervention, either to "stop the killings or bring the culprits to book.’’

“We want to call the world as a whole to look at what is happening in this area. It is good we place it on record. This is not just murder, but an attempt to erase us from the surface of the earth. We have called on the youths at home to keep calm.”

Timothy Golu also said: “It is a wicked and brutal killing of 78 years old paramount ruler. This is another dimension of the act of terrorism we are witnessing in Plateau State.

“Right now, there is tension and if nothing is done, it will escalate, we are tired of what is happening, we want to hear a very strong statement from the President.”

FG Not Tackling Woes Of Oil Communities –Dogara

Yakubu Dogara, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, have accused the Federal Government of not taking steps to address agitations of oil producing communities in the country.

Dogara who talked about the PIB also lamented that the National Assembly had written to the Presidency to submit its proposed reforms on the oil and gas sector about three times, lamenting that the Presidency was yet to do anything in that direction.

“We are not unaware of the several failed attempts at redeeming the petroleum industry by our predecessors.

“The Petroleum Industry Bill has been down a long, tortuous, and chequered road. Most of us have been co-travellers in the journey to pass the bill into law, and have the requisite experience to avoid any pitfalls ahead, hence this resolve to seek proper consultations with you and build confidence among us.

“The need to make consensus and lend a voice to long suppressed agitations in the drafting and consideration of petroleum industry bills informed our decision to organize this stakeholders summit.

“We are optimistic that this approach will provide the crucial platform to enable us cross-pollinate ideas and ventilate our positions on certain contentious issues, regardless of how vexed they may be. You can be rest assured that our work at the National Assembly is to do your good intention.

“Nigeria is one of the richest petroleum regions of the world. Paradoxically, it has never been able to maximize effectively its immense oil and gas potentialities and the revenue accruing from it.

"The downstream operates in a state of almost continuous malfunction, and, for years, has been characterized by comatose refineries and an inefficient downstream.

“It operates under an inadequate legal framework, with an inefficient and poorly maintained pipeline network and depot system. The result is that Nigeria is both one of the world’s largest producers of crude oil, and one of the world’s leading importers of petroleum products, a dependency that has enriched the elite at the expense of the increasingly impoverished masses.

“The downstream runs on a system of subsidies until recently and uniform pricing which has proved ineffective, in addition to being administered in a very opaque way. Shortages and inadequate supply have characterized the Nigerian downstream for over two decades and can be described as an example of system failure.

“The upstream has not fared better either. Pipeline vandalism, large-scale environmental degradation, and the world’s highest levels of crude oil theft have been constant for several years.

“Decades after the advent of Nigeria’s petroleum industry, problems which led to host community agitation remain unaddressed and highly politicized, and the question of the extent to which revenues from the industry should be shared among the three tiers of government and the people remain, as do the content and limits of corporate social responsibility.

"These are all crucial issues that should be addressed to guarantee and ensure a stable polity in Nigeria.

“These examples represent just a few of the present problems of Nigeria’s petroleum industry, and are reflective of an industry that is in critical need of total restructuring, which can only be commenced through the enactment of laws that provide the legal framework that will promote the emergence of an optimal petroleum industry.

“The existing laws are outdated, anachronistic, and out-of-sync with international best practices and current technological advances for decades, with the primary laws being the Petroleum Act of 1969, and the Petroleum Profits Tax Act, 1958.”

He said: “Legal reform, which is the bedrock of meaningful restructuring of the industry, is thus a dire necessity. Unfortunately, it has not happened, even though activities towards reform have been taking place since year 2000.

“For reasons which will be made apparent in the course of this summit, these activities have ended up in failure, evidenced by the non-enactment of either the Petroleum Industry Bills of 2008 and 2012, which were before the 6th and 7th National Assembly respectively.

"In the meantime, the situation in the petroleum industry and Nigeria’s sustainable development, has progressively worsened.

“I have on at least three different occasions, publicly requested the executive to, as a matter of urgency, send an Executive Bill on its intended reforms in the petroleum sector. We had hoped to avoid the situation in the past two Assemblies (6th and 7th) where the PIB was sent to the National Assembly very late in its tenure, thereby guaranteeing failure to pass the bills.

“In the absence of an executive bill on the matter, two private members' bills have now been introduced. We urge participants to familiarize themselves with these bills and make necessary inputs at the public hearing stage of the bills.

“We also hope that this summit will craft its own version of the PIB for the attention of the National Assembly, taking into consideration all the existing drafts and also the pending bills. In this regard, therefore, I wish to correct the erroneous impression in the media that there is a pending executive bill on PIB on the floor of the National Assembly.

“Over the years, Nigeria has performed much worse than sub-Saharan Africa as a whole and much worse than other regions of the developing world, in terms of human development indicators, to the extent that it is regarded as a foster child for ‘how not to run a petroleum industry’.

“The intention of the House of Representatives is to revisit the process of petroleum industry reform, and to work towards the successful enactment of laws that will regulate the Nigerian petroleum industry, in accordance with the rule of law, good governance, and due process, for the sustainable development of Nigerians and the total advancement of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“It is our conviction that the reform of the petroleum industry is a vital necessity, if Nigeria is to realize its God-given potential. While not downplaying the critical and inescapable need for diversification, for a country that depends largely on revenues from petroleum industry, there is no alternative to reform.”

IMPEACHMENT THREAT: Buhari, Nnamani, Mark, Masari, others meet in Aso Rock

Some former leaders of the House of Assembly met with President Muhammedu Buhari at the President's office for a closed door meeting according to media reports.

Those seen include former Senate Presidents, David Mark and Ken Nnamani, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Bello Masari and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang.

While Nnamani and Masari arrived the same time, Mark arrived the President’s office together with Enang about one hour later.

It is still unclear if all of them met the President together, as Nnamani and Masari were said to have been driven out from the President’s office in a vehicle, according to reports.

Meanwhile, David Mark, who came out after about thirty minutes, walked through the corridor with one protocol officer and did not speak to journalists.

The meetings may not be unconnected with the current squabbles at the national assembly, including the alleged threat to impeach President Buhari as well as the trial of Senate President, Bukola Saraki, alongside his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

Oil Wells: 65% Ownership Or Nothing - Niger Delta lawmakers

Lawmakers from the Niger Delta region have called on the Federal Government to review the ownership structure of oil wells in the country to allow for 65 per cent ownership by the people of Niger Delta region as a means of facilitating development in the region.

The lawmakers also condemned the activities of herdsmen and called for the establishment of special task force drawn from the various security agencies and Neighbourhood Watch in each local government area to check their criminal and nefarious activities, and ensure justice.

The House members said, “The people of the Niger Delta region should possess at least 65 per cent of the oil wells contrary to the present ownership structure where less than 10 per cent of the oil blocks belong to our people.”

“There is an urgent need for the Federal Government of Nigeria to put in place adequate machinery that would ensure direct payment of derivative oil funds into the hands of Niger Delta benefiting communities,” the principal officers and members of the Houses of Assembly in the region said.

“Legislators of the Houses of Assembly in the South-South and South East can no longer watch helplessly as our region drifts aimlessly while our people walk the razor edge under the strain of impoverishment, environmental degradation, insecurity and uncertainty on the one hand and the destruction of oil/gas installations and the attendant consequences including their impact on the eco-system and the economy on the other hand.”

“They must embrace dialogue and diplomacy and channel their grievances through various constituted platforms.”

WHY WE CAN’T IMPEACH BUHARI — REPS

The House of Representatives, speaking through the House Chief Whip, Alhaji Alhassan Doguwa, in Bauchi State, said it had no single evidence of impeachable offences against President Muhammadu Buhari.

Fielding questions from newsmen, Doguwa who represents All Progressives Congress, APC, Doguwa/Tudun Wada Constituency in Kano State said: "As far as I am concerned, I am a member of House of Representatives and a principal officer of the House; the National Assembly is a twin institution; we have the House and we have the Senate. If there is any insinuation or speculation about the impeachment of Mr President in any chamber rather than the House of Representatives, that, I don’t know,

“But I want to be very straight forward to you that we don’t have such a consideration before us. That matter is not even being contemplated; it was not even at any point in time thought of. After all, we do not have any evidence of impeachable offence with which to use against Mr President.

He said speculations on purported impeachment plans are unfounded, adding that “it is mere speculation on the street and should be left at that level.”