A chieftain of the All Progressives Grand Alliance and gubernatorial candidate in Kogi State, Dr. Goodman Akwu has expressed disappointment on the revelations trailing the padding of the 2016 budget by the Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin to the tune of N4.1billion without due process.
In an interview with DAILY POST in Abuja, he noted that the unfortunate development by a federal lawmaker amounts to abuse of office and has created a ceaseless hullabaloo between the National Assembly and the Executive arm of government with Nigerians at the receiving end.
He added that the impunity further casts slur on Nigerian lawmakers, even as the already passed budget, may fail credibility test, since Abdulmumin in his reaction, said “that was the way it has happened in the past.”
“What the federal lawmaker did amounts to abuse of office because he used his powers as Committee Chairman on Appropriations to insert into the budget those budgets that did not pass through due process and this has created ceaseless controversies yet again,” he pointed.
Akwu was emphatic that Abdulmumin be suspended from the House and be handed over to the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences since the offence he committed falls within the ambit of ICPC laws.
“It should not be a challenge suspending the Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations, after being scrutinized by House Committee on Ethics and Privileges since he has admitted at different fora that what he did was not wrong. He should be handed over to the ICPC”, he emphasized.
According to him, lawmakers have Privileges of special intervention/constituency projects to the tune of N100,000,000 to be executed through them in their various constituencies which has already been captured in the budget, hence, the N4.1billion was very unfortunate at a time the nation was passing through financial stress.
He decried the budget delay, noting that it was already taking a toll on Nigerians, while reminding the APC-led government that they have all the time to govern Nigerians prosperously, but there were no sign to that effect eleven months after.
“We are eleven months into this administration and after the first quarter into 2016, we are still talking about budget. Rightly or wrongly, the Administration have the time and Nigerians cannot point to anything yet,” he maintained.
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