Suspended member of the House of Representatives, Abdulmumin Jibrin, representing Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency, Kano State, has dismissed an invitation to appear before the Ethics Committee of the House of Representatives over fresh petitions bothering on absenteeism and poor representation of his constituency, saying it was a witch-hunt by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara and his cabal in the House.
In a statement issued on Thursday, he claimed that the invitation over fresh petitions against him is because the security and anti-graft agencies have made progress on investigation into the allegations he raised, which has led to the freezing of the accounts of some principal officers including the Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, where large sums of illicit funds were allegedly found.
The statement reads in full: “I have read from several media platforms that Speaker Yakubu Dogara using the House of Representatives has invited me to appear yet again before the ethics committee over two fresh petitions on absenteeism and poor Representation of my constituency and operating a foreign account.
“These petitions came from a nonentity sponsored by Speaker Dogara that calls itself a youth organization under the guide of the fraudulent Ikenga Ugo Chinyere.
“It is curious that the ethics committee refused to admit and rejected 18 petitions against the Speaker and some principal officers of the House bothering on monumental budget fraud, unprecedented abuse of office and massive corruption but shameless have reduced the entire activities of the ethics committee to witch hunt Hon Jibrin.
“This latest assault is coming because the security and anti graft agencies have made advance progress on investigation which has lead to the freezing of the accounts of some Principal Officers including the Minority Leader Leo Ogor where large sums of illicit funds were found. This development has created a huge tension in the House of Representatives and the man to blame and who must be dealt with decisively through any means is Hon Abdulmumin Jibrin.
“This is in addition to the international dimension the issue has taken through my effort and that of other well meaning Nigerians. While thousands of Nigerians in Diaspora are at the moment signing a global petition calling for the arrest and prosecution of Speaker Dogara and others, a team of competent lawyers in the United Kingdom have concluded plans to file a petition at the Interpol and FBI over 500 billion naira stolen through the running cost scheme designed by Speaker Dogara as Chairman House services in the 6th Assembly. The lawyers have identified various instances and laws under which people who created such scams can be prosecuted at the international level.
“I have reacted to the lies and misinformation regarding the issues of the accounts in a statement I released two days ago to lay the matter to rest and also, the issue of poor representation and absenteeism is simply laughable.
“I will make a formal statement on the invitation and petitions when I receive an official communication from the Speaker or his agents. But in the mean time, I wish to state categorically clear that this disgraceful action is an extension of the witch hunt launched against me by Speaker Dogara and his corrupt cabal in the House to paint me in a negative light and divert attention away from the allegations of massive budget fraud and corruption hanging on their necks”.
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