From Kemi Yesufu

The budget padding crisis in the House of Representatives, rather than abate, is getting messier with  Abdulmumin Jibrin  opening a fresh can of worms, even as the  House of Representatives said he was removed as Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations for demanding bribes from heads of Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) and illegally injecting  N250 billion into the 2016 budget.
Jibrin yesterday released more documents among them a hand written note revealing how lawmakers fraudulent manipulated the 2016 budget, applied for or received approvals for the so-called constituency projects.
Jibrin had earlier alleged that Yakubu Dogara, the Deputy Speaker Yussuf Lasun, Majority Whip, Alhassan Doguwa and Minority Leader Leo Ogor took N40 billion out of the N100 billion allocated for constituency projects in the 2016 budget.
Jibrin’s latest documents, alleged that Lasun, who chaired the committee that approved the final House version of the budget, arbitrarily earmarked funds for “fictitious” projects to different lawmakers by hiding them in genuine projects proposed by the executive for ministries, departments and agencies.
In one of the documents,  the deputy speaker allegedly wrote that projects worth over a stagerring N594 million  be embedded in the ministries of Agriculture, Labour and Trade and Investment as well as the National Boundary Commission for Doguwa and Deputy House Leader, Buba Jibrin.
However, chairman of the House Committee on Media and Publicity, Abdulrazak Namdas at a press briefing at the National Assembly denied Jibrin’s allegations.
Namdas who was accompanied to the yesterday’s briefing by dozens of pro-Dogara lawmakers, said apart from demanding bribes and padding budget, Jibrin also attempted to blackmail President Muhammadu Buhari by inserting projects in Duara, his hometown, even as he included a film village project in his Bibeji/Kiru Federal Constituency which he named after the president without his permission or knowledge.
“It was found out that he was fond of inserting projects into prominent persons’ constituencies without their knowledge to curry favour and possibly use it as a means of blackmail against them when necessary.
“One of such is the numerous projects he claimed in a TV interview in April 2016, to have cited in Mr. President’s hometown, Daura, Katsina State without Mr. President’s solicitation or knowledge, in a desperate attempt to blackmail Mr. President as an answer and justification for allocation of N4.1 billion to his constituency when confronted by the interviewer,” Namdas said.
Daily Sun yesterday reported the threat by Namdas to “lay bare the real reasons” Speaker Dogara sacked the former chairman. Jibrin’s removal and his replacement by Mustapha Bala Dawaki was announced during plenary on Wednesday June 20.
Stating that the House stands by its decision to ask Jibrin to go because of various allegations of blackmailing MDAs heads for “pecuniary” reasons,  which dates back to his tenure as chairman House Committee on Finance in the Seventh Assembly, Namdas further accused the ex-chairman of gathering incriminating documents against other lawmakers with intent to blackmail them.
Namdas equally turned the accusation of padding the budget against the former committee chairman. The House spokesman said, rather than Dogara inserting projects into the 2016 budget illegally as alleged by Jibrin, it was the ex-chairman who inflated the budget by N250 billion.
He challenged the former chairman to present the full details of the comments and directives given by the Speaker on the budget, saying Jibrin doctored the documents he released to make those he has fallen out with look corrupt.
Asked how the House leadership discovered Jibrin’s alleged blackmail schemes and why no action was taken against him until last Wednesday, Namdas argued that the Speaker waited until enough evidence was gathered against him.
“He was in the habit of collating, warehousing and manipulating sensitive information to blackmail people sometimes apparently for pecuniary purposes. And by the virtue of his position as Appropriations Chairman, he meets with very high and senior public officers at all levels.
“The Speaker and the Leadership were inundated with complaints by heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) over harassment from the House Appropriations Chairman to engage in conduct and acts unbecoming of their offices.
“The Leadership lunched an internal investigation into these allegations and was largely satisfied that action had to be taken to remove him, in the interest of the integrity of the House.
“One clear example is the insertion of Funds for the so called Muhammadu Buhari Film Village in his Constituency in Kano State without the consent or solicitation of Mr. President. This has brought both Mr. President and the government to disrepute”.
Namdas added Jibrin’s removal enjoyed the backing of majority of lawmakers who had long demanded his sack over his handling of the 2016 budget.