By KOSA ONYEMERE
THE recent outburst by Abdulmumin Jibrin, member of The House of Representatives, representing Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency of Kano State, against the leadership of the House and by extension the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, should come as no surprise to discerning observers who are familiar with his antecedents. For a man who has repeatedly managed to put himself in the eye of the storm of political brouhahas in recent times, taking on the leadership of the House and the institution to which he belongs as a whole in a political battle may seem easy, straight forward and, perhaps, even winnable. It is only that this time around, he has bitten more than he can chew, and has no moral standing ground. Those who come to equity must at all times do so with clean hands.
In the run up to the emergence of the 8th Assembly, Jibrin was a very visible and vocal member of the House, and one of the first to publicly rebel against his party, the APC’s zoning formula for the House of Reps’ principal positions. Jibrin was the spokesman of the Consolidation Group, a group of like-minded members who revolted against APC’s zoning formula and wholly threw their weight behind the candidature of the current Speaker, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara. It was a move that earned the group and its members the respect and admiration of a section of the Nigerian public, who saw it as germane and healthy for our democracy.
Thus, it came as no surprise to many when he was made the Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, after the emergence of Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara as the Honourable Speaker, House of Representatives. The battle had been fought and won, and all was set to be rosy and cordial, except that Jibrin had other intentions.
Posing as a champion of the public good, Jibrin was quick in lathering up to President Muhammadu Buhari – despite having previously opposed his candidacy. During a press conference to announce the resolution of the crisis that erupted in the House over
the sharing of principal positions between the Dogara and Gbajabiamila camps, he had this to say: “Let me reiterate our resolve that President Buhari is going to enjoy the maximum and unprecedented support of the APC caucus in the House in order for him to achieve all the laudable programmes of this government.” He would later make rubbish of this statement with his handling of the 2016 Appropriation Budget of President Muhammadu Buhari.
In what has now become public knowledge, Jibrin has been alleged to have used his position and privilege as the Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation to put projects to the tune of four billion Naira for his constituency, while some lawmakers had no projects in their own constituencies. To make matters worse, he is said to have introduced millions of naira into the budget for the construction of an International Tourism Market in Argungu, Kebbi state, his wife’s constituency. This project is believed to have been smuggled into the budget for the National Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC). This action is one of the major reasons President Buhari with- held assent and refused to sign the Budget at the first instance, citing the slipping in of additional items of expenditure, an anomaly that must be corrected before he signs. This consequently led to the late passage of the Budget, and the attendant hardship and suffering that ensued.
This is not to mention the money appropriated to his Constituency of Babeji/Kiru and the so-called Muhammadu Buhari Film Village that he inserted in the budget and sited in his village without the consent or knowledge of the President, and which was vehemently rejected by people of Kano state
These actions made other members to be unhappy with Jibrin, especially his hoarding of information on the details of the 6.06 trillion Budget.
Speaker Dogara, therefore, was faced with two choices. Either back an ally and strong supporter who used his privileged position as Chairman of a very powerful committee to engage in untoward activities, or to honour his vow and oath of carrying out his duties as Speaker without fear or favour, and protect the nation at large.
The first option was a nogo area for the Speaker. In that regard, Dogara is said to have held series of meetings with President Buhari, where he pleaded and promised to handle the situation. The Speaker, after exhaustive consultations, consequently informed Jibrin of his removal as Chair, House Committee on Appropriation. This decision was taken a long time ago, when the Speaker was presented with overwhelming details of Jibrin’s infractions.
It is bad that Jibrin is trying to drag the whole House of Reps and the Speaker down with him. This is typical of someone drowning and clutching at every straw, both real and imagined. For him to be so unapologetic and unremorseful over his conduct, but rather seeking to pull others down with him, suggests his acceptance of culpability. It is also rather ironic that Jibrin is accusing Dogara of wrongdoing. Dogara’s tenure as Chairman of House Services was marked with not a single allegation of wrongdoing and his stellar record from the 6th and 7th Assemblies was why those who so passionately supported his Speakership bid, did. Re- cords show that Dogara has never been involved in a case of fraud or any other financial crime.
Jibrin also opposed Buhari’s candidacy in 2014 and granted several interviews to that effect, in which he described Buhari as “too old” for the presidency and advised him against contesting. Is it not then curious that he, all of a sudden, claims to love Buhari more than others who supported him?
*Kosa Onyemere, a public affairs analyst, writes from Lagos