Saturday, August 27, 2016
Sacked Chairman of the House of Representatives committee on
Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin has released another statement
disclosing how Speaker Yakubu Dogara, House leader Femi Gbajabiamila and
others who have been in the House of Reps before this
present administration have received well over N 10 billion in
allowances.
According to him, the allowances are supposed to be what is
referred to as "office running cost" but the lawmakers convert it into
personal funds which they use to buy choice houses and cars and live
luxurious lifestyle which they couldn't afford before they came into the
green chamber. He says if the 10
Principal Officers of the House of Representatives are named and
shamed, it will force reform in the House of Representatives. He insists that the House of Representatives is highly involved in sharp practices. Read his statement below
In
line with my resolve to continue to expose individual and systemic
corruption in the House of Representatives, I will today commence the
disclosure of what many Nigerians believe is almost impossible to reveal
or are not even aware of – the allowances of Members of the House.
Recall
that in the last one month, I have exposed 2016 budget fraud
perpetrated by Speaker Dogara, Lasun, Doguwa and Ogor. I have also
exposed the mismanagement and non-disclosure of the internal budget of
the House, just as I exposed some other fraudulent activities
perpetrated by Speaker Dogara and 9 other members. All these are in
different stages of investigation.
I
have offered to stand as witness against these corrupt members and
continue to cooperate with the anti-corruption agencies. I have done my
part, and left the rest to the anti corruption agencies, the judiciary
and Nigerians. After the allowances issue, the next exposé will delve
into investigative hearings and oversight activities.
My
resolve to open up on the controversial allowances should be
instructive to all those who think I am only out to get Speaker Dogara
out of his seat. If that is my mission, I will definitely not go into
the issue of allowances, which is the only aspect that unites the entire
House.
I
have said it repeatedly that this activism has been running in my
blood, and thankfully the fallout of the 2016 budget became the trigger
and provided me with the right avenue. I always take solace in the fact
that posterity will judge not only Members of the House but our leaders
and Nigerians as a whole on how they support or oppose Speaker Dogara
and the other accused Principal Officers' avaricious move to hold on to
power in the face of these mounting accusations.
But
if members of the House and Nigerians still feel at home with Dogara, a
corrupt number 4 citizen, despite the overwhelming allegations against
him and his gang, so be it! If my colleagues chose to support Speaker
Dogara, I wish them safe journey. But be rest assured that in this
struggle, I shall continue alone!
Many
prominent Nigerians have approached me in the past few weeks and I took
time to explain my mission to them. Whether they are convinced or not, I
am not sure. All I know too well is that none of them, after listening
to me, insisted that I drop this line of action. I have said it over and
over again that I will continue this anti-corruption crusade to wipe
out corruption in the House and trigger internal reforms so that
Nigerians can have the ideal representatives they yearn for.
The
imperative of having a corrupt-free House of Representatives cannot be
over-emphasized. It is only when the Legislature comes with purity that
effective oversight will be carried out and investigative hearing to
expose fraud and corruption can be undertaken. When the House is
corrupt, it affects the whole country because the House of
Representatives is the largest representation of Nigerians. This must be
the starting point of the fight against corruption. I dare say the root
of our economic, political and social problems as a country lies in the
House. No amount of economic strategy will succeed in this country if
we do not put hands together and decisively deal with corruption in the
House.
The
consequential effect of dealing with corruption in the House,
especially the allowances issue, will take its toll on even elections.
Candidates usually spend so much money hoping that they can recoup from
the huge allowances they will receive when elected into House. When you
know that there is no such money in the House to be shared, I am sure
nobody will want to put in so much money just to win an election to the
House. The resultant effect will be that only people who truly want to
serve will vie for the office, and voters will be obliged to vote
according to the dictate of their conscience. This is just one
advantage.
Now
we come to the crux of the matter. It should be noted, however, that
money is voted as "running cost" to members apart from salaries. You
don't need a professor or a committee of technocrats to tell you what is
reasonable as running cost for member of the House and also how the
money should be administered and who should be the recipient of the
money.
The
way the allowances of members is currently structured can not pass the
integrity test of any of the aforesaid. The issue of allowances of
Members of the House is another systemic corruption. Since you can not
afford the systemic shock if you go all out and arrest 200 to 300
members at once, what you do is to deal with the issues in phases.
Today,
I will start with the 10 Principal Officers of the House of
Representatives. If just these 10 are named and shamed it will force
reform in the House. I will therefore provide what each one of them had
collected as "office running cost" in their entire stay in the House. If
any one of them disputes my figure, he or she should not make a drama
out of it but just simply tell the country how much he or she has
collected.
Running
cost is a money collected by many members (with a few exception) and
used as personal funds. No more, no less – case closed! Most of these
members use it to acquire properties, cars and live a life of luxury
they never lived before coming to the House. Though there exist systems
for retirement of such money but a simple investigation by a primary
school pupil will reveal the massive fraud therein.
From
computation of various sub heads of allowances of the House, Speaker
Yakubu Dogara has been in the House from 2007 to date. He has received
about 1.5billion naira. Deputy Speaker Yusuf Lasun has been in the house
from 2011 to date. He has received about 800million naira. House Leader
Femi Gbajabiamila has been in the House from 2003 to date. He has
received about 1.2billion naira. Deputy House Leader Buba has been in
the House from 2007 to date. He received about 1.2billion naira. Whip
Alhassan Doguwa has been in the House from 2003 to date. He has received
about 1.2 billion naira. Deputy Whip Pally Iriase has been in the house
from 2011 to date. He has received 700 million naira. Minority Leader
Leo Ogor has been in the House from 2007 to date. He has received 1.2
billion naira. Deputy Minority Leader Barde has been in the House from
2011 to date. He has received 700 million naira. Minority Whip Chuma has
been in the House from 2007 to date. He had received 800 million naira.
And finally, Deputy Minority Whip Binta has been in the House from 2011
to date. She has received 700 million naira.
So
in between these 10 Principal Officers, the country has pumped about 10
billion naira – and still counting! As I have mentioned earlier, in
most cases with few exceptions, these funds are diverted for personal
use. I will provide further break down of these figures in due course. I
will also provide 50 additional names of members with worst cases of
diversion of such funds in due course so we can name and shame them.
As
we continue this struggle to wipe out corruption and restore sanity in
the House of Representatives, I will continue to urge Nigerians to
remain vigilant as these corrupt elements can go to any length to change
the narration and evade justice.
God bless.
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