Budget padding: Reps seal Jibrin’s office

…Denies receiving Court order

The House of Representatives on Thursday started implementing its resolution to suspend former Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriation, Representative, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, for 180 sitting days.

Officials of the National Assembly sealed and changed locks to the office former Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriation within the legislative chambers.

Other officials took an inventory of items found in the office.

Jibrin was suspended on Wednesday, September 28 for breaching the practices and precedents of the House.

The House also called on Jibrin to tender a formal apology before his resumption of legislative duties.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for the House, Abdulrazak Namdas says the lower legislative chamber is yet to be served with court papers since it resolution to suspend Jibrin.

He said that the House cannot be stopped from performing its constitutional duties.

“On this issue of court, I want it to be clear that there is clear separation of powers in this country. We have the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.

“No arm of government is to gag another, and I can assure you, if decisions are taken here and someone is aggrieved, he can run to where actions can be taken.

“But for us, we have done what is within the rules. The constitution empowers us to have our rules, to implement it and this has been implemented.

“If he goes to court tomorrow, we will brief you accordingly, but for now, nothing has happened,” Namdas said.

The former chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriation, Representative Abdulmumin Jibrin, had described his suspension for 180 sitting days by the House as ‘completely inconsequential’.

Reacting to his suspension for allegedly breaching of the practices and precedents of the House of Reps, the lawmaker said on Wednesday that the process that led to the decision of the House was a complete waste of time.

“Whatever product comes out of that process, as far as I am concerned, is completely inconsequential and cannot stand anywhere.

“The matter is in court and it is a matter of litigation.”

Jibrin said he had asked his lawyer to file a suit against the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, for contempt.

“While I wait for the formal correspondent from the House, I have in anticipation instructed my lawyer, Femi Falana, to charge Speaker Dogara for contempt, because he is aware that the matter is in court and he went ahead to table the matter before the House and referred it to the ethics committee.

“Of Course, predictably, this is what they wanted and as far as I am concerned, it is not an issue,” he stressed.

The House had asked him to apologise, but the lawmaker said he would not apologise.

“I can tell you very clearly. I will never, ever, apologise to anybody in the House of Representatives.

“I did not commit any offense, I didn’t do anything wrong. I have said it repeatedly that in the five years that I have spent in the House of Representatives, I have never abused my office. I have never corruptly enriched myself, so I have no reason to apologise to anybody,” the Kano lawmaker said.