Former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, on Monday failed to appear before the Ethics and Privileges committee where he had been invited to answer to an allegation that he breached the privileges of members.
As the committee concluded public hearing on its investigation, the chairman of the 11-member committee, Nicholas Ossai, said Jibrin had been accorded enough privilege to defend himself, stressing that there was no reason why Mr. Jibrin should not appear before the committee since his demand that the proceeding be conducted before members of the public had been met.
“He asked that we invite media, civil society organisations, student unions, members of the Nigerian Bar Association and some university lecturers, which we did from the first day,” Ossai said.
Jibrin had on Friday failed to appear before the committee as it commenced investigative hearing into the budget padding allegation the embattled lawmaker levelled against the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, and other principal officers.
He had yesterday told newsmen that he would not be available for today’s proceedings of the committee because he had no confidence in the panel.
During the day’s sitting, the Ethics Committee Chairman gave the clerk of the committee 30 minutes to make efforts to reach Jibrin. The clerk said he tried to contact the lawmaker from Kano through phone call and text message, without success.
“We assured him that, as a member of this committee, he would be given fair hearing. The committee also went out of its way to make sure that this proceeding is made public. I think this committee has been seen to have observed the dictates of the Constitution on the matters of fair hearing.
“It is a duty for this committee that at all time Nigerian are carried along and we have done that,” Ossai said, disclosing that he had challenged Jibrin or anyone else to come forward with evidence showing that he had compromised or expressed bias over the scandal.
The chairman offered to willingly recuse himself from the committee in the face of such proof.
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