The Nation
Embattled former House of Representatives
Appropriation Committee Chairman Abdulmumin
Jibrin has linked Senator Iyiola Omisore with the
budget padding controversy.
Omisore, who represented Osun East, was the
chairman of the seventh Senate’s Appropriation
Committee.
In a letter to All Progressives Congress (APC)
National Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun in which
he urged him to advise House of Representatives
Speaker Yakubu Dogara to resign, Jibrin alleged
an unholy alliance between Dogara and Omisore.
In the letter, dated August 12, Jibrin said
Dogara’s exit would enable the House “nominate
a Speaker Pro Tempore and mobilise our
members to support him to take over and
adjourn the House until when we are due for
resumption in September”.
“This will give room for consultations on the
election of a new Speaker when we resume,” he
said.
He urged the party “to discuss on the possibility
of returning the N100 billion constituency
component of the budget under any of our laws
so that all stolen money can be returned,
particularly the N40 billion naira and equitably
distributed to all constituencies.”
The office of the speaker declined to react to
Jibrin’s letter yesterday.
On Omisore’s role, he said: “His godfather is
Senator Iyiola Omisore. During the build up to the
appointment of committee chairmen, I had a
terrible disagreement with him (Dogara). While in
London, before the appointment of committee
chairmen, Jibrin claimed that Dogara “pleaded
with me to join him at a house in London. I went
and I saw him seated very comfortably with
Senator Omisore. It was there he said he was
going to appoint me as chairman, Appropriations
and I should be reporting to Omisore
“I was completely shocked. A nice lunch was
served; we ate and we left. At least, there are
CCTVs in London. I confided in a highly-placed
person who I wouldn’t want to mention his
name. He advised me to remain calm and
concentrate on my job. My refusal to comply
with such questionable instructions largely
accounted for the anger of Mr. Speaker towards
me.
“It was much later that I realised that Senator
Omisore had adopted Speaker Dogara as a
godson since their days as Chairman
Appropriations and House Services in the sixth
Assembly respectively.”
Jibrin also accused Sokoto State Governor Aminu
Tambuwal of not supporting his appointment as
Appropriations Committee chairman.
Jibrin said Dogara was “more interested in telling
me about the forces who didn’t want me to be
appointed chairman, appropriations as if I cared.
He mentioned former Speaker and present
Governor of Sokoto State Aminu Waziri
Tambuwal as one. That is how narrow-minded
Dogara can be.”
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