Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State has denied having a hand in the protest by a civil society organisation, Conscience Nigeria, calling for the investigation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, over the budget padding scandal.
Conscience Nigeria and Center for Public Accountability had threatened to submit a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over budget padding allegations against principal officers of the House of Representatives.
Executive Director of Conscience Nigeria, Comrade Tosin Adeyanju, in a statement urged Nigerians to join them as they set to embark on a road walk to the EFCC office in Lagos to submit a petition on the need for Speaker Dogara, Hon Jibrin and House of Reps leadership to be investigated and prosecuted.
It added: “The program is slated for 10am on Monday 29th August, enjoins intrested Convergence Point will be St. Gregory College Junction by Awolowo way, Ikoyi from where there will be a March to the EFCC Office at 15, Awolowo way Ikoyi before Falomo Round About.
“We call on all well meaning Nigerians in Lagos and tax payers to join in this walk against corruption in the House of Representatives and give their full support to this call for Accountability in our body polity. The Civil Society organisation also invites media houses to come and cover this historic walk.”
But in a press briefing yesterday, a group under the auspices of Civil Society Desk, CSD, alleged that Governor Abubakar sponsored the anti-Dogara protests with N30 million.
Recall that Governor Abubakar had after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential villa Abuja, stated that Dogara, was fighting him because he refused to support his emergence as Speaker, explaining that he had directed lawmakers from the state to support the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in June last year.
The Bauchi governor claimed that rather than put aside the issues of the election and join hands with him to move the state forward, the Speaker of the House of Reps started antagonising him.
Specifically, the governor was alleged to have bribed a civil liberty organisation, Conscience Nigeria with the sum N30 million to further organise demonstrations against the leadership of the House.
National Secretary of CSD, Comrade Ijewa Obioma alleged that another sponsored protest is scheduled to hold on Tuesday when the National Assembly resumes from its annual recess.
“We are completely opposed to this antic of bad blood, viciousness and persistence to overheat the Nigeria polity when all patriotic endeavours are being geared towards efforts and initiatives to revamp the economy.”
“It has become very clear that the governor is behind those protests against the Speaker. Our findings have linked the governor to the activities of such civil society organisations whose link man is one Tosin Kakaki Adeyanju, who is the organiser of Conscience Nigeria, has been spotted in various pictures with the governor,” he said.
But reacting to the allegations of the CSD, the Bauchi Governor’s Senior Special Adviser, Muhammad Sabo, stated that the governor was not interested in the political crisis rocking the House.
Sabo stated that the Government needs more money to execute developmental projects and could not have spent such a huge amount on frivolity.
“How can a responsible governor spend such money on frivolity, when he is looking for resources to continue development projects?”
“The governor is not interested in the political problem of Speaker Dogara, he is not interested in the brouhaha, the Speaker should face his colleagues and sort out his problem,” he said.
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