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Tag: Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin

  • NYCN to Reps: Declare Jibrin’s seat vacant

    NYCN to Reps: Declare Jibrin’s seat vacant

    …Says suspended lawmaker has five  foreign Accounts

    The National Youth Council (NYCN) of Nigeria is asking the Speaker of the House, Hon. Yakubu Dogara to declare vacant the seat of the suspended former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin.

    The NYCN Coordinator, Ifeanyi Okonkwo made the demand in a petition he submitted to the Chairman of the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges, Hon. Ossai Nicholas Ossai.

    In its petition the NYCN asked for the investigation and persecution of the former Chairman saying “Jibrin should be investigated for operating 5 foreign Accounts “in violation of 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act.”

    Okonkwo, in the petition further states: “we have uncovered several Foreign Bank Accounts still being operated by Hon. Jibrin in the Barclays Bank, United Kingdom. These accounts include: Barclays Bank International Accounts – SC 204744 AC 33471268; Barclays Bank Reserve Account – SC 204744 AC 43707164; Barclays Bank Mortgage Account SC 204744 AC 94030664; Barclays Bank Euro Currency Account SC 204744 AC 52339433; Barclays Bank USD Currency Account SC 204744 AC 74521222.

    “Address used in opening the accounts; 81 Cotswold Gardens, London, NW2 1PE.”

    He further said “Fifth Schedule, Paragraph 3 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides the list of category of public officers who shall not maintain or operate a bank account in any country outside Nigeria and that list includes members if the National Assembly.”

    He said the action of Jibrin also contravenes Section 7 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act.

    He further States: “we have also obtained among many other Code of Conduct Bureau Assets Declaration Form of several other Nigerians. We are investigating that of Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin which he deposed to at the FCT High Court on 8th June, 2016.

    He said it was evident that Jibrin “set out to deceive the Code of Conduct Bureau and in the process made depositions he knew at the time of making than not to be true.

    “Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin owns at least five accounts with Barclays Bank alone with an Euro Account, Dollar Account, Mortgage Account, Reserve Account and International Account.

    “All the accounts are functional and he uses them all while still serving as a member of the House of Representatives and have not declared their existence to the relevant authorities. ”

    The NYCN in its demands called on: “The Speaker and the House to publicly investigate the fresh evidence of corruption and pass a resolution and declare the seat of Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin vacant so that INEC can conduct election into the Kiru/ Bebeji Federal Constituency for the good people of that constituency can have good and befitting representation.

    The group also called in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC to act in their petition in the issue.

    It also called “on the Chairman of Code of Conduct Bureau to immediately refer Hon. Jibrin to the Code of Conduct Tribunal for immediate trial and barring him from holding public office for life.”

    It further called on “The Hon. Attorney- General of the Federation to ensure there is prompt and adequate prosecution of Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin for perjury as his depositions in his Code of Conduct Bureau Asset Declaration Form is to his knowledge not true reflection of the facts known to him.”

  • Padding: Lawmakers received $25,000 each for vote of confidence – Jibrin

    Padding: Lawmakers received $25,000 each for vote of confidence – Jibrin

    ….. Its tales by moonlight – Zakari Mohammed

    The budget paddings scandal took yet another turn Wednesday as the former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin accused the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara of bribing some members with 25,000 dollars each.

    According to Jibrin, the alleged sum was for the selected members to sign a vote of confidence for the speaker and three other accused principal officers.

    The lawmaker made the allegation in a statement issued to journalists yesterday in Abuja, saying members of the House of Representatives were given 25,000 dollars to sign a register opened at the Speakers Asokoro guest house.

    He further states: “This disgraceful act is coordinated by Hon. Zakari Mohammed, Hon. Jagaba Adams Jagaba and DCOS to Mr Speaker Hon. CID Maduabum.

    “It is a shame that Mr. Speaker has not responded to any of the allegations raised against him but has resorted to look for fraudulent cover

    “My stand is that the corrupt Speaker Dogara, Lasun, Doguwa and Ogor must listen to Nigerians, reconvene the house immediately and step aside.

    “Investigation by anti-graft agencies is already on and I pledge to support the investigation and prosecution of these corrupt public officers, “he said.

    However, in a swift reaction to the allegation, one of the lawmakers accused of distributing the money, Hon. Zakari Mohammed in a tweet quickly debunked the allegation.

    He said: “My attention has been drawn to yet another tweet by the former chairman appropriation committee, Hon Abdulmumin Jibrin saying that I and others were distributing $25,000 to each member of the House, to generate signatures for speaker Dogara’s vote of confidence, “I want to state that the accusation is not only untrue but it is another tales by moonlight to hoodwink Nigerians to malign my image.

    “Fellow countrymen please disregard this cheap blackmail aimed at playing to the gallery, I challenge Mr. Jibrin to name at least 10 members or less who benefitted from the bribe.

    “My advice to Mr. Jibrin is that he should stop the mudslinging of my person and concentrate on licking his self-inflicted wounds.”

  • Budget padding: Dogara, others should step down – lawmaker

    Budget padding: Dogara, others should step down – lawmaker

    The Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara as well as other principal officers of the House implicated in the budget padding scandal in the House have been advised to step down for proper investigation into the matter.

    Reacting to the issue, a lawmaker in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Moshood Oshun, who said that he could not reach any conclusion on the matter until the whole thing is made clearer, added that the matter should be handled with caution.

    “If we are saying that the Speaker should step down, other people that were accused with him should step down. I am not a member of the Federal House of Representatives, but if he steps down, what happens after that, will he be allowed to go back to the seat if he is innocent.

    “Many people were complaining, when President Muhammadu Buhari delayed in signing the 2016 budget, but if what is happening now is substantiated, that means he was right,” he said.

    Oshun stressed that one of the primary functions of the legislature is to approve budget by looking at the economy of the country and the available fund, adding that the legislators  need to know what the people want.

    The lawmaker said that it is not enough to say one wants to build a hospital, when what the people need is a school, saying that a legislative house has the right to either reduce the budget, leave it as it is or increase it depending on what they feel the people need.

    Oshun, who is representing Lagos Mainland 2 in the Assembly, said that there has been allegations and counter allegations over the issue, but that the people still need to wait to see the end of the matter.

    “Dogara said it did not happen and the former chairman of the appropriation committee, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin said that it was padded after it had been approved by the House. So, the whole thing has to be investigated.

    “Inviting the EFCC and ICPC to investigate the matter would reduce the power of the House because the House has the right to regulate itself.

    “The legislators have the right to reduce or increase the budget once they feel it is good for the benefit of the people.

    “If the House feels that a project, like a hospital is needed in Lagos Mainland for instance, we would approve it regardless of the contractor that would handle it. Where I have problem is when something is added after the budget has been passed by the House,” he said.

    The lawmaker explained that if the budget is debated on the floor of the House and members agreed, then there should be no problem about its content.

    He emphasised that it was not wrong for the House to have a team to discuss with the executive to work on the budget for the purpose of the people, for the interest of Nigerians.

    He said: “We don’t have to fight because we belong to different arms of government. What we should be interested in is to do things that would benefit the people. As legislators, we are representing the people.”

  • 2016 budget fallout: Reps Appropriation Chair, Abdulmumin resigns

    2016 budget fallout: Reps Appropriation Chair, Abdulmumin resigns

    …says: I did no wrong

    …..Replaced with Mustapha Dawaki

    The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin has resigned his position over the fallout of the 2016 budget appropriation.

    In a press briefing Wednesday, the lawmaker said he resigned after extensive consultations with his family members.

    Recall that in the wake of the passage of the 2016 budget, Jibrin was accused of allocating 20 projects worth N4.3 to himself without the consent of his committee members.

    A separate N40 billion worth of projects was also said to have been surreptitiously allocated to the leaderships of the Appropriations Committees of both chambers of the National Assembly which was allegedly shared without the consent or knowledge of other members.

    The budget was returned by the Executive for padding and had to be redone before President Muhammadu Buhari eventually assented to it sequel to a meeting of presidency with principal officers of the Senate and House of Representatives and the setting up of a 15-member harmonisation Committee to sort out grey areas.

    Members had called for the removal of Jibrin then as the Appropriation Committee Chair.

    But the lawmaker, who briefed in company of some members of his committee, said he has done no wrong in terms of the committee’s work on the 2016 budget. According to him, his resignation was a personal decision.

    Jibrin said his hands are clean, but promised to give details “of what transpired in the 2016 Appropriations”.

    The revelation, he said, “it was not to attack anybody but so that we can also learn collectively and see how we can move the system forward. But whether I like it or not, I was the Chairman of Appropriations and my signature was on all the documents even though I know that I am not at fault.

    “Of course we are all aware of a lot of issues that took place during the process of the 2016 budget. I have always maintained one position, that as the Chairman Appropriations, i did my very best. Until date, I have said that if anybody has anything that I have done that amounts to an abuse of my office, or amounts to an illegality, that it should be brought forward.

    “I’ve said it severally, that I can be reported to the authorities or the relevant arm of government, or the internal disciplinary measure of the House. Should take its course. And as it is until date, nobody has raised any issue against me.

    “And that has been the case even while I was Chairman Finance. For four years, I was chairman Finance and I executed my responsibility diligently and I left an unblemished record.”

    He said there were a lot of “obstacles here and there “during the 2016 budget appropriation.

    “Even if I’m not at fault, it’s only proper that I take the responsibility. I believe that the best thing I should do under the circumstances is to step aside so that the committee can move forward.”

    Earlier at plenary, the Speaker of the House, Hon. Yakubu Dogara had announced a replacement for Jibrin.

    Dogara said Jibrin has been replaced with Mustapha Dawaki Bala representing Kudu/Warawa federal constituency of Kano state.

    Dogara said: “He (Jibrin) met me and said he does not think he would continue as the committee chairman due to pressure of the work.”

    The Speaker therefore said the House leadership had taken a decision to replace him as the committee chairman.

    Jibrin who represents Bebeji/Kiru federal constituency of Kano State was the chairman of the committee on Finance in the 7th House of Representatives, and became the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations in the 8th House under the leadership of Yakubu Dogara.

  • 2016 budget has lots of omission – Jibrin

    2016 budget has lots of omission – Jibrin

    The House of Representatives has said that it took time to align the 2016 budget with the policy thrust of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration.

    The lawmaker also said it would be wrong to say that the National Assembly is delaying the assent of the President by not sending the details of the budget on time, adding that It’s a normal tactic for the NASS to send the appropriation bill to the President and the details later.

    Speaking with the media Wednesday, the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin said that the 2016 budget “had a lot of omissions” and that the APC – headed administration’s first budget ” is the most difficult budget we’ve ever dealt with.”

    Jibrin debunked reports that the National Assembly is delaying the President’s assent to the 2016 budget by not sending the details. According to him, the details would be sent within the next week or two.

    He said the National Assembly should be applauded for the propitious passage of the 2016 budget in spite of its many challenges.

    “We in the National Assembly believe that this is the most difficult budget we have ever dealt with. Of course you all recall that the MTEF came very late, we accepted it, and we dealt with it. The budget itself came late; we accepted it and we dealt with it. Even while we were dealing with all

    The Lawmaker said that there were a lot of omissions in the 2016 budget and that Budgetary allocations were not in tandem with policy thrust of the Federal Government.

    “The budget has had a lot of challenges which has to do with multiple budget details and of course, Ministers, heads of MDAs coming to disown their budgets. There were other key omission in the 2016 budget that the National Assembly had to deal with.

    ” In some instances, we discovered that budgetary allocation are  not in tandem with the policy thrust of the federal Government which is part of the responsibility of the Appropriation committee to look into that and try to align the allocations to match the policy thrust of government.

    “And of course we saw a lot of omissions, inadequate provision for personnel across board.

    “I’ve explained to you severally the case of Prisons ration that was reduced far below the federal Government approved rates. We talked about the NYSC where only 210 thousand corps members captured as against 260,000. All these we did our best to see how to address these issues and a lot also could not be addressed.”

    He said other areas the National Assembly intervened was to align the budget with the Security thrust, anti- corruption drive and economic diversification Programmes of the government

    Jibrin said for all the National Assembly did, the Presidency should be grateful, adding that in the next week or two, the details of the budget will be with the President.

    “I think if they’re not thanking us, they cannot throw stones at the National Assembly.”

  • Abdulmumin and Maryam Jibrin set for black tie wedding reception

    Abdulmumin and Maryam Jibrin set for black tie wedding reception

    It is no longer news that Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, the Chairman, House Committee on Finance, and his beautiful bride, Maryam Augie, got married on Maryam’s birthday, November 24th, at Emir’s Palace Argungu, Kebbi State and there was a birthday dinner for the beautiful bride later that day in Abuja.  There was surplus of the best cuisine and drinks money could buy, including performances from I go die, Banky W and Waje to everyone’s delight.

    The gist is that high society is gearing up for the classy wedding reception slated for December 21 at the Harrow Park Golf Club, CBD Abuja, and this will be heralded with a black tie event slated for December 20.

    Jibrin, a businessman cum politician, before joining politics, was the Chairman/CEO of Green Forest Group Limited and Chairman of Turkish Construction giants, TASYAPI.

    The bride has become a young emerging leader from the north and a strong voice for the less-privileged. The CEO of AYAHAY Foundation holds a Bachelors Degree in International Business from the National American University Sharjah, Dubai and MBA from Ehsal University, Brussels. Her advocacy in the areas of education and girl-child empowerment has received critical acclaim in Nigeria and abroad.