HON. ‘PADDINGTON’ JIBRIN NOW ALONE …..Why APC refused to sanctions culprits
In what has become a twist in the padding saga of the House of Representatives, the whistle is now running from pillar to post to save his neck from the impending doom that is dangling of his head as he is now the target of the security apparatus who are hell bent in arresting him to face criminal charges.
Initially, when the fire of the padding incident first rear its head, the Kano lawmaker look like a golden boy moving from one anti graft agency to another making confessional statements and out of this world revelations about how the budget was padded by the speaker of the house Hon. Yakubu Dogara, the deputy speaker Hon. Lasun, the chief whip Hon.Doguwa and the majority leader Hon. Leo Ogor. During this time like a signature tune of a telecommunication giant everywhere he goes he was receiving standing ovation and the masses also sees in him as a messiah fighting corruption.
But the music stopped while he was busy perfecting the next dancing steps to take, when the Presidency issued a statement that there was nothing like padding in the 2016 budget.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang; and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Mr. Ismail Kawu, made the Presidency’s position on the lingering crisis in the House of Representatives known when they appeared before the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress at the party’s headquarters.
They told the party leaders that they were at the headquarters to make the Presidency’s position on the matter known.
“We have given explanation on every issue. There is nothing, to our knowledge, like padding of the budget. The budget, as accented to by the President, is the budget passed by the National Assembly and it is being executed.
Also the All Progressives Congress (APC) declared that it will be unable to sanction the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and the former Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumini Jibrin over allegations of budget padding.
According to Senator Lawal Shuaibu, Deputy National Chairman (North), who revealed that although the party is concerned with its members’ conduct, it will not play the role of a law enforcement agency?
“Article 7 subsection 5 of APC Constitution gives us the power to do certain things. So, you see, what we are doing is the right thing. But only we don’t want that in the public gallery,” he said.
“What is padding? The party does not sanction anybody on that. What is of concern to us is where any member contravenes the party constitution in his conduct.
“That is why I refer you to Article 7, subsection 5 of our party constitution. We are not a law enforcement organization. We don’t enforce law.”
“We only ensure that the constitution is complied with. All members of the party are answerable to the party and answerable to their constituency.”
“The two members that are subjected to this are elected or appointed members of the party including those that are holding public office. So, you expect the party to sit down and watch. No.”
“We have to do our work. So, the question of sweeping anything under the carpet does not arise at all. But we don’t want to do it in the market place, but at the party secretariat.”
These two statements are what finally shattered the dancing moves of Abdulmumini Jibrin and suddenly he became the target of the security which necessitated why he ran to the Federal High Court Abuja seeking an order to restrain the Nigeria Police from arresting him.
However, another party stalwart who disclosed to us said that the whole padding issue is about raising money to fund the party, that only God knows why Jibrin acted stupidly and now he is practically on his own with nobody to run to since the presidency and the party has come out to disown him.
