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Tag: Yakubu Dogara

  • Pray for perfection of Buhari’s healing, Dogara urges Nigerians

    Pray for perfection of Buhari’s healing, Dogara urges Nigerians

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives,  Mr Yakubu Dogara, on Saturday welcomed President Muhammadu Buhari back to the country after over three months of medical vacation in England.

    In a statement in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr Turaki Hassan, the speaker expressed gratitude to Almighty God for granting the president healing and journey mercies back home.

    Dogara said that the president’s recovery and safe return attested to the healing power of God, in response to the fervent prayers of Nigerians “who prayed day and night for the president”.

    “It is now time for us all to continue to pray for the president for the perfection of the healing and divine rejuvenation to enable him steer the affairs of the nation in the right direction.

    “On our part, the House of Representatives wish to assure the president of our determination, support and commitment towards delivering on our promises to the Nigerian people as members of the same government.

    “The president can always count on our support in this regard,” he said. (NAN)

  • SERAP drags Dogara to UN over bill to crackdown on CSOs

    SERAP drags Dogara to UN over bill to crackdown on CSOs

    The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an appeal to three UN Special Rapporteurs over the National Assembly’s plan to establish a commission that would “crackdown and monitor civil society organisations”.

    A statement signed by the executive director of the group Adetokunbo Mumuni on Sunday said SERAP was seriously concerned that the bill was by far the most dangerous piece of legislation in the country.

    Mumuni said this was in terms of its reach and devastating consequences not only for the work of civil society but the effective enjoyment of constitutionally and internationally recognised human rights of Nigerians.

    He said the bill would adversely affect the country’s civil societies for generations to come and turn them into a government puppets.

    He said the urgent appeal was sent to Ms Annalisa Ciampi, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

    Mumuni said the others were, Mr Michel Forst, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and Mr David Kaye, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

    He urged the rapporteurs to put pressure on the leadership of the National Assembly particularly the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, to immediately withdraw the repressive bill to establish the commission.

    He said the bill sought to monitor, supervise, de-register, and pre-approve all activities by civil society, labour, community based organisations, and the media, in the country.

    SERAP called on the Special Rapporteurs to prevail on the Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, to decline to sign the bill into law.

    Mumuni also wants the House of Representatives and the Senate to exercise their legislative powers for good governance and ensure a safe and enabling environment for civil society organizations both in practice and rhetoric.

    He urged them to do this in line with the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended and the government’s international human rights obligations and commitments.
    “

    “The sole objective of the House of Representatives is to weaken and delegitimise the work of independent and credible civil society.

    ““If adopted, the bill which is copied from repressive countries, would have a chilling effect not only on expressions of peaceful dissent by the citizens but also on the legitimate work of NGOs.

    ““It will also affect individual human rights defenders and activists scrutinising corruption in the National Assembly and exposing human rights violations by the government.
    “

    “The bill if passed by the National and signed into law by Osinbajo would severely curtail the rights of all Nigerians to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and association in the country.’’

    Mumuni said the bill was a further path of closing civic space in the country, something witnessed only under military regimes, and has no place in a democratic Nigeria.

    He said the bill was entirely unnecessary, as the work of civil society was already sufficiently regulated under existing legislation.

    He said the legislations included the Companies and Allied Matters Act, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Act, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Act and other similar legislation.

    He said SERAP was also concerned that the proposed bill was coming at a time the members of the National Assembly were proposing amnesty and immunity for themselves.

    He said the quest for immunity was against prosecution for corruption and other economic crimes.

    He said the bill would also undermine both section 22 of the 1999 Nigerian constitution and article 13 of the UN Convention against Corruption.

    He said these laws gave the media a critical role to ensure that the government, at all levels, is accountable to the citizenry.

    Mumuni said the bill would subject Nigerians and civil society to extensive government control and interference negating the very essence of constitutionally and internationally recognized rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.

    He said SERAP believed that independent groups and activists should have space to carry out their human rights and anticorruption work without fear of reprisals, such as losing their registration or being sent prison.

    “SERAP is concerned that by proposing this bill, Nigeria’s parliament is trying to immune itself from public criticism and scrutiny.
    “

    “If this bill is passed into law, good governance, the rule of law and respect for human rights of Nigerians would become a farce in the country.
    “

    “By gagging civil society from criticising the National Assembly and the government, the bill will undercut the rule of law, shrink civic space, and expose vulnerable Nigerians to greater level of injustice and repression.”
    Mumuni said without a strong civil society in Nigeria, the problem of high-level official corruption and other cases of violations of human rights would go unaddressed, and perpetrators would continue to enjoy impunity.

    He urged the authorities to rely on existing legislation which already regulate the work of these groups and to urge the National Assembly not to criminalise Nigerians for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.

    The bill, which is sponsored by Umar Jibril Deputy Leader, (PDP-Kogi) seeks to establish a commission responsible only to the president and the senate to regulate the activities of CSOs.  (NAN)

  • Media cautioned to look away from Executive, Legislature conflicts 

    Media cautioned to look away from Executive, Legislature conflicts 

    •Saraki, Dogara seek robust executive, legislature relations

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday criticised the attitude of the political elite.

    To him, governance must be people-centred.

    Prof. Osinbajo said it is only a robust and proactive relationship between the Executive and Legislative arm of the government that would ensure delivery of voters’ expectations.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki sought a change of public misconception of the legislature’s responsibility to nation-building while House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara regretted the reluctance of the Executive to return Legislature’s friendly gestures.

    Osinbajo, Saraki and Dogara spoke at the opening of the 16th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) in Abuja.

    Imploring political office holders to consider their position as a privilege but time-bound, the Acting President quoted the saying by a British theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking, who warned of the anger of the ignored and the marginalised majority.

    Osinbajo added that Hawking cautioned the elite to learn from the lessons of the past.

    The Acting President said it was pertinent for the two arms of government to form a synergy for the good of the governed considering the anger of the poor, the ignored and marginalised majority.

    He said: “To stand in their shoes, sit where they sit, to feel their pains and understand that their frequently dashed hope is that the political elite should know that the heavy burdens that they bear is ours to lighten.

    “In comparison to the other parts of the world, the angst and cynicism of the populace is worse in Africa due to conflicts, corruption and weak institutions have ensured that the largest numbers of the poor and the deprived come from our continent.

    “It is the failure of leadership that has resulted in our present predicaments. How do we feel when our legislative halls, called hallowed chambers are referred to as temples of justice and executive villas as corridors of power – all suggestive of grand but isolated institutions?

    “The realities of majority of our people is the mystery of the slums and the indignity of powerlessness.

    “So while we describe ourselves as excellencies, distinguished and honourables, the vast majority of our people, in their polite moments, say that they see neither excellence nor much honour in their own lives…

    “Responsibility that privilege and power placed on us is to do our utmost to change the current bleak narrow tips and projections for our nations, our continent and the world.”

    Osinbajo added: “Poverty, hunger and disease can truly become history by pursuing those legislative and executive options that target education, food security and healthcare for all.

    “Let me say that the National Assembly in Nigeria and the Executive have shown that when we work together, we can make quantum leaps in bettering the lives and livelihood of our people.”

    He cited the gains of rice production in two years, whereby executive policies were given force of law by the legislature to guarantee import stoppage by 2018.

    This, the acting President said, will stop Nigeria from being the second world largest importer, spending N1 billion on rice import monthly.

    He said with rice importation dropping by 80 per cent and with the empowerment of over 1.43 million rice farmers in the North alone, Nigeria is guarantee self-sufficiency in rice production by the end of 2018.

    He said this and the decimation of Boko Haram insurgents were made possible because the two arms of government chose to work together.

    Osinbajo pleaded for the understanding of the media in their search for news, noting that the media and the social media were more interested in conflicts between the Executive and the legislature.

    But, Dogara, who is also the African regional Chairman of the conference regretted that the executive hardly reciprocate legislature’s gestures of cooperation to ensure smooth-running of government for the delivery of dividends of democracy to the people.

    “The legislature as the first institution of democracy must sacrifice more in this endeavour, even if the gesture is not often returned by the Executive,” he said.

    Saraki said it has become imperative to change the negative perception of the people towards the legislature.

    Saying that public misconception of the function and contributions of the legislature to development was worrisome, he noted: “Only few are aware of the level of intervention aimed at responding to national economic challenges, pressing poverty and rebuilding infrastructure.”

     

  • Reps defer consideration of constitution review report

    Reps defer consideration of constitution review report

    The House of Representatives on Wednesday differed  consideration of report of the Ad hoc Committee on Constitution Review to test run the electronic voting device.

    Thirty minutes after the closed door session at about 1:35p.m., the lawmakers had to wait for an hour before the device became functional during plenary presided by Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

    There was confusion as the manual head count of lawmakers in attendance was 260, but the electronic device recorded 257.

    The development forced Dogara to take a roll call of members in the hallowed chamber of the House in order to ascertain the exact number of lawmakers present.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the House ad hoc committee on the review of the 1999 constitution led by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Yussuff Lasun, had submitted report on the proposed items for amendment on July 20.

    Among the 27 items recommended for amendment are; Composition of members of the Council of States, Authorisation of Expenditure, Devolution of Powers, and Financial Autonomy of State Legislature.

    Others include Distributable Pool Account, Local Government, State Creation and Boundary Adjustment, The Legislature, and Reduction of Age for Election among others.

    At about 2:50p.m, the electronic device recorded 272.

    The situation eventually compelled the speaker to inform the lawmakers who were already agitated to shift further test run of the electronic device till Thursday.

  • Reps to establish framework for smooth transfer of power

    Reps to establish framework for smooth transfer of power

    The House of Representatives has commenced the process of establishing of a legal framework for “Smooth and Orderly transfer of Power’’ from one government to another.

    The Speaker of the House, Mr Yakubu Dogara, made this known in Abuja on Tuesday at a public hearing on Justice organized by the House of Representatives Committee on Justice.

    Dogara, who was represented by Leader of the House, Mr Femi Gbajiabiamila, said that a Bill had been raised on the framework.

    He said that the purpose of the bill was to promote the orderly transfer of power within the executive.

    He explained that the transfer was in connection with the expiration of the term of office of a president and the inauguration of his successor.

    Dogara said, “the bill provides that at any general election for the office of the President, the incumbent president, if not re-elected, shall within two weeks of the declaration of the president-elect, provide space for not more than 10 persons.

    “The 10 persons will be those designated by the president-elect to begin a review and analysis of the budgetary expenditures during the tenure of the current president.’’

    He said that the committee shall also review all necessary documents as may be requested by the president-elect’s transition team, to acquire a working knowledge of the various offices.

    The offices, he said, included departments, commissions, boards and other agencies of the executive arm of the government.

    “Any disruption occasioned by the transfer of the executive power could produce results detrimental to the safety and well-being of Nigeria,’’ Dogara said.

    The speaker said that in the US “the Presidential Transition Act (PTA) of 1963, as amended, established formal mechanisms to facilitate presidential transitions.’’

    He said that the PTA authorized the Administrator of General Services to provide facilities and services to eligible presidential candidates and the president- elect.

    Dogara however, noted that the committee may improve the Bill by being guided by best practices in other presidential democracies worldwide.

    The bill which is under consideration also provides for the appointment of an Administrator-General who shall oversee the transition process after each general election.

    The Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Blessing Nsigbe, noted the need for the legislation, and said that the essence of the bill was to ensure continuity and smooth handover from one government to another.

    “The bill seeks to the orderly transfer of power from one government to another.

    “It will give the new government enough information and speed to continue with the process of governance,’’ she said.

  • Spending N5b on generators annually is unacceptable -Dogara

    Spending N5b on generators annually is unacceptable -Dogara

    …as Fashola backs Renewable Energy Fund

     

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara has decried the power situation in the country despite the humongous investments made into the sector by the government over the years.

    According to him, it was the pathetic power situation that has forced Nigerians into committing N5b annually on procurement of generator set.

    While he described the situation as unacceptable, the Speaker pledged the resolve of the House to work with the Executive towards finding a permanent solution to the power generation and distribution challenges in the country.

    Towards this end, he disclosed that the House is reviewing some of Nigeria’s energy laws in order to provide an appropriate legal framework that will facilitate the exploitation of renewable energy to the benefit the Nigerian economy.

    The Speaker, who spoke Tuesday during a public hearing on three power sector reform Bills said, “Power is arguably the single most important driver of the national economy. Our industries and factories need electricity to run; and so do our offices, homes and businesses.

    “It is estimated that Nigerians spend about $5 billion US Dollars yearly to fuel their generators. This is an unacceptable situation and the House of Representatives stands ready to support the Executive arm of government to put a stop to this state of affairs.

    “We can only be self-sufficient in the energy field when we combine all of our energy resources such as wind, solar, hydro, biomass, bio-fuel, landfill, sewage gas, solid waste, geothermal energy, ocean energy etc.

    “Renewable energy sources are natural and often replenishes itself. Nigeria needs to invest more in renewable energy as fossil fuel is a diminishing asset.

    “An appropriate legal framework to exploit renewable energy which is nature’s gift to mankind is not adequate in Nigeria. This makes it difficult to organise the sector in a commercially viable matter. Herein lies the merit and strength of this Bill under consideration”.

    Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola aligned with the proposed establishment of Renewable Energy Fund in Nigeria, saying there is a need for holistic review of the legislative frameworks governing the power industry.

    Represented by Louis Edozien, Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry Power, the Minister however submitted that the fund be used as equity participation in renewable energy projects, and should exclude the Commission as a player, which regulates the sector.

    He also proposed that the fund should be managed by the NERC not Board, in addition to allowing the Commission to determine the remuneration of its staff as a technical and institutional monitor of the power value chain.

    “There is no doubt that establishment of a dedicated fund to renewable energy us a sound and pragmatic policy. It is however important, in our view, to critically review the provisions relating to the operation of the Fund as provided in the bill,” Fashola said.

    On the amendment of the 12 year old Power Sector Act, Fashola said the Act was able to trigger transformation of the Nigerian power sector from a State monopoly to competitive electricity market.

    “What is needed to ensure that the Act continues to provide an enabling legal framework for the power sector is holistic review.

    “This is a review that will take into consideration the effectiveness, or otherwise of extant provisions in the light of our experience in the last one decade.

    “Any amendment of the Act at this stage ought to take into consideration lessons learnt and challengers encountered in the course of implementing the provisions of the Act.

    “The amendment is also expected to address some fundamental issues that are militating against the power value-chain.

    “It is also important that the provisions that will be introduced will assist to strenghtem the framework for power sector reform.

    “For all the foregoing reasons and in order to ensure that maximum traction is gained from an amendment of the EPSRA, it is our humble position that we use the opportunity of this present bill to consider an exhaustive review of the bill”.

    According to him, the privatization of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was triggered by the enactment of Electricity Power Sector Reform Act which was completed in 2013.

    He said: “Power generation and distribution are no longer ‘public utilities’ in the strictest sense. On the contrary, power generation and power distribution are now largely in the hands of private sector investors.

    The object of the bill may not therefore be defeated if its focus is ‘public utility’.

    “In order words, the Commission is already empowered by the National Assembly to regulate and develop necessary framework for renewable energy in Nigeria.

    “It is my understanding that it is in furtherance of this power that the commission issued its regulations on feed-in tariff for renewable energy sourced electricity in Nigeria.

    “It is important to point out that the objective of this regulation is to develop, promote and harness the renewable energy resources of the country and incorporate all viable ones into the national energy mix.

    “As the House may be aware, the current national renewable energy and energy efficiency policy targets for 30 percent of all generation to come from renewable energy by 2030.”

    In its presentation, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) noted that the Commission is duty bound to publish its audited account, in two national dailies without the mandate of the Minister.

    While the Commission opposed the establishment of another agency, it proposed upward review of penalty from N20,000 to N500,000 for failing to publish the audited accounts.

    The Commission also stated that cooperation of State governments was required in its investigation of the recurring accident in the power sector as a preventive measure.

  • Reps to investigate alleged killing of 97 Nigerians by Cameroon’s gendarmes

    Reps to investigate alleged killing of 97 Nigerians by Cameroon’s gendarmes

    The House of Representatives, on Thursday resolved to investigate alleged killing of 97 Nigerians in the ceded Bakassi Peninsula by Cameroonian gendarmes.

    The resolution was sequel to a motion under “Matters of Urgent National Importance’’ by Rep. Babatunde Kolawole (Ondo-APC) on the need to investigate the report.

    Moving the motion, Kolawole said, “last week, there were several media reports that 97 Nigerians have been killed in Bakassi by Cameroonian gendarmes.

    “This is because they could not afford a N100, 000 levied on each fishing boat.

    “This is in spite of the clauses in the Green Tree Agreement signed between Nigerian and Cameroonian Governments which protect our citizens in the ceded areas from harm.

    “Apart from these recent attacks, there had been reports of harassments, rape and killings of Nigerians by the gendarmes over the years with the Nigerian government seemingly doing little or nothing to stop it.

    “If nothing is done to stop this ugly development, other Nigerian lives would be at risk as the gendarmes may continue to kill Nigerians at will without fear of recriminations.”

    Kolawole said that though there were reports that the Federal Government had summoned the Cameroonian Ambassador over the killings, there was need for the House, as the people’s parliament, to send a clear signal.

    “We will not sit and watch while the lives of our citizens are wasted with impunity.”

    Members spoke in favour of the motion, with some decrying the gendarmes’ perceived use of excessive force against Nigerian citizens in the ceded region.

    The motion was unanimously adopted by members when it was put to a voice vote by the Speaker, Mr Yakubu Dogara.

    The motion was therefore referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs for investigation.

  • Reps fail to swear in Hembe’s replacement

    Reps fail to swear in Hembe’s replacement

    The House of Representatives, on Tuesday again did not swear in the member-elect for Konshisha/Vandeikya Federal Constituency of Benue state, Hon. Dorothy Mato.

    Mato is to replace erstwhile chairman of the House Commitee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Herma Hembe.

    The Supreme Court had on June 25 sacked Hembe and Sen Sani Abubakar Danladi and ordered that Hon. Mato and Alhaji Shuaibu Isa Lau be sworn in immediately.

    The court also ordered the sacked legislators to refund all monies collected as salaries and allowances in the last two years.

    While Senator Shuaibu Isa Lau had since been sworn in by senate president, Hon. Mato’s swearing is still hanging in the House.

    Last Thursday, the House Spokesman, Rep. Abdulrazaq Namdas explained that the member-elect could not be sworn in because she needed to complete certain documentation.

    But a constituent of the lawmaker confirmed that Mato had done all the necessary documentation.

    “Mato, was kept in the office of the clerk to the house for hours waiting to be ushered into the chamber for swearing in, but to no avail.’’

    Her constituents and supporters, who came to the gallery to witness her inauguration, left disappointed.

    At plenary, Speaker Yakubu Dogara was absent in the chambers and the house was presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Lasun Yussuff.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the member-elect was seen loitering around.

  • Another theoretical national budgeting: how long will it continue?

    Another theoretical national budgeting: how long will it continue?

    I read in one of the Nigerian newspapers that, “The Senate and the House of Representatives, on Thursday, 15/06/2017, replied Acting President Yemi Osinbajo over his comments on the 2017 budget after appending his signature to the appropriation bill. A member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Abubakar Lawan, had brought up the Acting President’s post-budget comments on the floor under matters of privilege at the session, which was presided over by the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara. He then cited Daily Sun and Daily Trust among newspaper publications that quoted Osinbajo’s comments on the powers of the National Assembly to alter the budget.

    He also said, “Budgets are priorities of the government because we are representatives of the people. We can say even though these are priorities of the government, based on our job of representation, these are not the priorities of the people and we can refuse to fund them”. One might therefore ask the following questions, “is there detailed information for the alteration of the budget?”, “what have been refused to be funded in the previous national budgets?”, “in terms of items, is there any major difference between the 2017 budget and previous ones?”

    Pragmatic national budgeting can never be attained in this ‘make-belief’ democratic system we are currently experiencing- this government of the few, by the few and for the few. This is the reason why there has never been any monumental infrastructural development in the country since the inception of democracy. Year in, year out, theoretical budget garnished with some items that are supposed to be periodic is churned out. For instance, every year, millions of public naira have been spent on telephone charges by the transport ministry: 4.2 million naira in 2009, 25.3 million naira in 2010, 22.5 million naira in 2012, 23.2 million naira in 2013.

    However, since 2014, the allocation on telephone charges has experienced drastic decline.  The budget on sewage charges over the same period for the transport ministry headquarters increased tremendously from 1.05 million naira in 2009 to 6.4 million naira in 2010. Thereafter, it somewhat plateaued at about 6 million naira until 2017. In the 2017 budget, 9.5 million naira has been appropriated for sewage charges. What could be the explanation for this increase? On library information (books) for the headquarters of the transport ministry, millions of naira have been budgeted for eight consecutive years: in 2009, it was 5 million naira.  An average of 24.5 million naira was budgeted for library information in 2010 and 2012. It then dropped sharply to 7.5 million naira in 2013, and then 5 million naira and 1.4 million naira in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Since then, it has been on a rise; 10.42 million naira in 2016 and 20.4 million naira in 2017 has been appropriated for.

    In the last eight years, billions of naira have been allocated for the purchase of computers and computer software.  Every year, you find projects that are meant to be periodic included in the national budget by various ministries. Capital projects have now become ‘recurrent expenditure’. Looking at the trend on budget allocation on the aforementioned items, one might infer that corruption peaked at 2010.  I am not making this up: this is true. You can check the records by scrutinising the budget documents available on the national budget website. Yet, when you go to these ministries, you will be surprised at what you will find. Nobody seems to query those responsible for this unwholesome act. In the very eyes of our imans, priests, professors, prominent judges, political activists and prolific writers, a few Nigerians have been able to carry out their functions without any human feelings to the masses. How do we hope to achieve development with this kind of approach?

    The outcomes of the ‘make belief’ democracy can never be positive but rather stagnation and hardships to the rest of the citizens who are not connected to the cabalistic chain. I am not astonished to hear and see that, ‘in the midst of the high rate of unemployment, recruitment exercises at the final stages are cancelled’, ‘scholars sent abroad for a one-year studies would have their upkeeps not paid until the ninth month, and there is no concrete reasons for the delay’, ‘theoretical national budgeting occurring for a decade’, ‘recommendations made from public hearings are not implemented’, ’bickering among politicians’.

    I hope that we will not see a rise of budget padding in 2018, as it is the penultimate year leading to the 2019 general elections in the country.

     

    Aniefiok Livinus Cranfield University, UK

  • Budget padding allegations: EFCC invites Jibrin 

    Budget padding allegations: EFCC invites Jibrin 

    The suspended former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Rep. Abdulmumin Jibrin, has been invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Jibrin’s invitation is based on his allegations on budget padding against the leadership of the House and to answer questions concerning money looted through padding in the 2016 budget.

    The EFCC’s letter of invitation to Jibrin dated June 9 was signed by the acting Head of Extractive Industry Grid Section, Mr Michael Wetkas.

    It said: “The commission has commenced investigation into the petition of corrupt practices and abuses of office reported on 1st August, 2016, by Hammart and Co. (Tafida Chambers) on your behalf against Hon. Yakubu Dogara, Hon. Yussuf Lasun, Hon. Alhassan Doguwa, Hon. Leonard Ogor and others.

    “In furtherance of the investigation and due to unfolding findings, it has become imperative to request that you attend another interview with the team.

    “Through Ibrahim Ahmed on 13th June 2017 at the 3rd floor Block A, No.5 Fomelu street, off Adetokumbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja, at 10 a.m. to clarify some issues to enable us conclude investigation”.

    Jibrin in a statement on Monday in Abuja confirmed receipt of the letter.

    He said: “Today, I received invitation from the EFCC for another interview to clarify some issues to enable the commission conclude investigation on my petition against some principal officers of the House on 2016 budget fraud, corruption and abuse of office.

    “This is a welcome development as it is coming at a time that many Nigerians have lost hope that the outcome of my petition will not see the light of the day.

    “I have severally maintained that I have full confidence in the EFCC under the Chairmanship of Ibrahim Magu.

    “I am also aware that the EFCC have been investigating the petition I submitted and far reaching discoveries were made.

    “It is also noteworthy that this invitation is coming at a time that some revelations were made last week.

    “The revelations with details of how the Minority Leader of the House, Leo Ogor, used his company where he is the signatory to the accounts to execute constituency project contracts completely against the laws of our land.

    “It is however worrisome that in his response, Ogor admitted the offence and even boosted that there is nothing wrong in what he did as quoted by the nation’s newspaper.

    “Let me state emphatically clear that any Member or Senator who used his company or companies with links to him to execute constituency project contracts, whether such contracts are executed or not has committed an offence.

    “Either way you look at it, he can be prosecuted on charges of corruption or abuse of office.

    “The case of Leo Ogor is same or even worst than that of Babachir Lawal yet the entire National Assembly has maintained an embarrassing silence.

    “Is my boss, Senate President and Chairman of National Assembly, Sen. Bukola Saraki aware of this?

    “In due course I will expose a lot of other issues in the 2017 budget that will shock Nigerians whether the authority decides to act on it or not.”