A former chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has given his colleagues in the lower legislative chamber three days to return all questionable allowances they have allegedly being collecting.
Jibrin, in a statement issued yesterday, warned that those who refused to heed his warning should be prepared to face the consequences because he will soon publish details of how such officials perpetrated the fraud.
The Kano lawmaker’s warning is coming on the day the House sealed off his office following his suspension for breaching the privileges of members and failing to appear before the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges investigating his allegation of budget padding against the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara and some principal officers.
The former Appropriations chairman advised his colleagues to individually approach the appropriate authority and make arrangement on how to return the excess allowances to government coffers.
“I have written to the Clerk of the National Assembly to stand by in anticipation.
“In the face of the revenue challenges and biting hardship the country is currently facing, there is no better time the country needs such money than now,” he said.
The lawmaker disclosed that he resolved to take the action after receiving numerous enquiries on the need for him to back his allegations against the leadership of the House with evidence.
“I have come under intense public scrutiny and pressure to prove that there exists systemic corruption in the House,” he noted.
Jibrin had accused the House Speaker, Yakubu Dogara and other principal officers of padding the 2016 budget to the tune of over N40bn .
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