•Jibrin grilled for 4 hours, Reps rally round Speaker

From Romanus Ugwu and Kemi Yesufu, Abuja

SPEAKER of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, will soon take his turn before a panel of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee to explain his role in the budget padding scandal rocking the House.
This is coming as the embattled former chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmunin Jibrin, yesterday appeared before the panel, where he was grilled for four hours.
Daily Sun gathered that the decision to summon Dogara came about following documents Jibrin tendered before the panel. Sources revealed that the NWC members insist that the Speaker must appear  to explain himself.
Jibrin had arrived the APC headquarters in the company of a team of lawyers and aides at about 2.05pm yesterday and went straight to the meeting with members of the APC National Working Committee (NWC) and left at 6.08pm. On arrival, he had met the Deputy National Chairman, Senator Lawal Shuaibu and other members of the NWC, including National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni; National Treasurer, Gwagwarwa and National Vice Chairman, Inuwa Abdulkadir, among others.
The APC had summoned Jibrin to appear before the NWC. A letter signed by the Deputy National Chairman (North), Lawal Shuaibu to Jibrin had stated: “As a disciplined party, the constitution of our party has made adequate provisions on ways of resolving any issue among our members.
“It behoves on the party to take all necessary steps in order to ensure that no member of our family brings dishonour to the party.
“You are, therefore, by this invitation, expected to appear before the under signed at the APC national secretariat on Tuesday, 2 August at 2 pm (yesterday). Kindly note that failure to and/or refusal to honour this invitation will amount to a decision you have made not to submit to the party.”
Daily Sun gathered that Jibrin, at the meeting had stated his case and tendered some documents to support his allegation that the House leadership padded the budget. He was, however, ordered to end the media war and leave the party to look into the matter.
A top member of the party told our correspondent that the NWC would submit a report to the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) after the meeting with Dogara.
The inside source said: “Hon Jibrin gave the NWC thousand and one reasons to prove that he is fighting a just course. He had insisted that he would not back out of the struggle, as he had resolved to expose the Speaker. He presented documents. But the take away from the meeting is that the party succeeded in pressing it on him to end every form of media war.
“He was equally directed to explore all the party options of dispute resolutions, which he agreed in principle. One other resolution taken during the meeting was that the Speaker Dogara would equally be summoned to the secretariat to brief the party leadership on his side of the story.”
After the meeting yesterday, Jibrin refused to talk to journalists.
The lawmakers had accused Dogara and 11 others of padding the 2016 budget by inserting unnecessary projects. He accused are Deputy Speaker, Hon Yusuf Lasun and the Minority leader, Leo Ogor.
Meanwhile, lawmakers from the APC and the main opposition,  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have intensified lobby aimed at getting support for Dogara following plot for lawmakers to move against Dogara and other principal officers of the House when the House reconvenes.
Daily Sun gathered that lawmakers from the North-Central state have resolved to frustrate any action against the Speaker.
According to one of the lawmakers from the zone, “ninety per cent of lawmakers from the North-Central states are backing the Speaker. We met today (yesterday) and we agree as a caucus to support him. Officially, we are pro-Dogara.”
On the plot to remove Dogara, Chairman, House Committee on National Assembly Budget and Research Timothy Golu, challenged the Transparency Group to make public the names and signatures of the 113 members who want the Speaker to go, stressing that about 300 members from various parties are in solidarity with him.
Golu also urged Jibrin to substantiate the allegation on how the Speaker and other principal officers padded the budget.