Skip to main content

Police invite Dogara, others for over budget padding scandal


Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, has raised a five-man special team to probe the alleged padding of the budget by House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara and some of his principal officers.
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Amodu Ali-led Special Investigative Panel (SIP) has invited Dogara, his deputy Yusuff Lasun, Chief Whip Alhassan Ado Doguwa and Minority Leader Leo Ogor to appear before it on Friday.
The panel Tuesday had what was called “a preliminary session” with ousted House Committee on Appropriations chairman Abdulmumin Jibrin, who accused Dogara and others of padding the budget with N284 billion.
Last Monday, Jibrin petitioned the police, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-corruption agencies over the matter.
Jibrin was said to have “furnished the SIP with vital information and a heap of documents” at their meeting yesterday.
A highly-placed police source, who spoke in confidence, said Ibrahim has directed the SIP to conduct a “comprehensive investigation into Jibrin’s petition.”
“We have commenced full investigation into the N284billion budget padding in the House of Representatives based on a petition from Hon. Jibrin.
”A Special Investigative Panel (SIP), with a crack detective, AIG Amodu Ali as the chairman, is the one saddled with the responsibility of looking into the allegations in the petition.
“The same Ali uncovered the lid on the $620,000 bribery scam in the House for which a former Chairman of the House Committee on Fuel Subsidy Management, Mallam Farouk Lawan, and the Clerk of the committee, Mr. Boniface Emenalo were indicted. The case is in court.
“You will recall that Ali was deeply involved in the investigation of the $180million Halliburton scam. So, the SIP is led by an officer who is tested.”
Asked of the preliminary work done by the SIP, the source added: “As I am talking to you (4pm yesterday), a letter of invitation has been addressed and sent to the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, the Chief Whip and the Minority Leader.

They will be interrogated by the SIP on Friday. As a prelude to the invitation of the principal officers, the SIP chairman and members had a session with Jibrin on Tuesday.
“It was not a grilling session. But Jibrin furnished the team with vital information and a heap of documents to back up the petition he submitted on Monday.
“We are going into the merit or otherwise of the petition on Friday by inviting Dogara and three others. It is going to be a gradual thing but we will crack the padding controversy.”
Jibrin confirmed on Tuesday that security has been beefed up around him by the Department of State Service (DSS) and the police.
He also asked the All Progressives Congress (APC) to prevail on Dogara to reconvene the House and step aside to face prosecution for alleged budget padding.
Jibrin, in a message on his Twitter handle, said: “My attention has been drawn to media reports that I have been summoned to appear before a disciplinary committee of our great party.
“That I received a letter yesterday evening (Monday) inviting me to a meeting in respect of the crisis in the House on Tuesday (yesterday) by 2pm at the party’s office.
“The letter did not in any way indicate it as a disciplinary committee. And I have responded that I will attend the meeting despite my tight schedules shuttling between security and anti-corruption agencies to provide support and evidence against Speaker Dogara and nine others.
“I am confident that the party will do the right thing by throwing its weight to support our resolve to wipe out corruption in the House and direct Speaker Dogara, Deputy Speaker Lasun, Whip Doguwa and Minority Leader Ogor to reconvene the House immediately and step down to face imminent prosecution and save the party and our dear country from further embarrassment.”







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The story of how Nigeria’s census figures became weaponized - Feyi Fawehinmi

By Feyi Fawehinmi The story of Nigeria’s 1962 census never gets old. Southern politicians seeking to end the north’s dominance of Nigerian politics decided that the only way to do it was through the census. Population figures at the time determined not only parliamentary representation but also revenue allocation and employee distribution in the civil service. In May 1962, the first census under an independent Nigerian government began. There had been a frenzy of mobilization by politicians in the south of the country using pamphlets, radio, schools, churches and mosques. Although the final results were not made public, the preliminary results were quite clear as to what had happened: the north’s population had gone up from 16.5 million in the last census in 1952 to 22.5 million, an increase of 30%. But in some parts of the east, the population had increased by up to 200% and more than 70% in general. The west also reported an increase of 70%. What the preliminary results showed...
Post a Comment
Read more

Game Of Thrones Finale Breaks Record Again

The finale of the 7th season of HBO hit show “Game of Thrones” has again broken the record to become HBO’s most watched show ever. The episode “The Dragon and the Wolf” was seen by 12.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen. HBO said when views from streaming service HBO Go and its stand-alone HBO Now app are included, that number rises to a whooping 16.5 million viewers. The 12.1 million viewers is a 36 percent improvement from last season finale which was seen by 8.9 million people. The previous record for the most watched HBO show belonged to, fittingly, episode 5 of the 7th season Game of Thrones, which was seen by 10.7 million viewers. HBO added that this season averaged 31 million viewers per episode once all live, time-shifted, on-demand, and streaming views are included. This is another record set by the show.
Post a Comment
Read more

Sagay saying nonsense, he should keep quiet -Senate

The Senate on Saturday replied Sagay, asking him to stop making ‘nonsensical statements’ capable of denigrating the nation’s parliament. The red chamber stated this while reacting to a statement credited to the professor of law, which was widely published in the mass media on Saturday. Sagay had described the 8th Senate as the worst in the history of Nigeria, adding that its members would be kicked out in 2019 general election. He also described the ongoing constitution amendment by the National Assembly as a hypocritical exercise, which would lead nowhere. He further lambasted the Bukola Saraki-led Senate for refusing to devolve power to the states, scrapping the State Independent Electoral Commission and for refusing to ensure 35 per cent affirmative action for women. But the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi-Abdullahi, asked Sagay to go back to the classroom if he had become overwhelmed by the national assignment given to hi...
Post a Comment
Read more