Earlier this year, the House was left embarrassed after the budget was passed on to it for deliberation but by the time it was handed over to President Muhammadu Buhari to sign, it had been padded. Responding to the embarrassment, house speaker Hon Yakubu Dogara took action on the debacle, sacking Hon Jibrin as the chair of appropriation committee that looked at the budget.
Yesterday, the House decided to suspend Hon Jibrin as the crisis appeared to escalate and following the move, the suspension would see him barred from the premises of the National Assembly and he would not receive salaries or allowances. Part of the punitive measures further stated that Hon Jibrin would not be able to hold any position of responsibility for the lifespan of the current National Assembly.
This followed the adoption of the report of the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges chaired by Hon Nicholas Ossai at the plenary, presided over by the deputy speaker of the House Hon Yusuf Lasun. According to the report, the committee found that Hon Jibrin’s statements were injurious, scandalous and denigrating to the House as an institution.
It also stated that Hon Jibrin’s statements brought down the image of the members thereby subjecting the house to opprobrium. It would be recalled that Hon Jibrin had alleged that the speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, and three other principal officers, were corrupt and should resign.
The House also demanded that Hon Jibrin should tender a formal written apology upon serving out the period of his suspension. Hon Jibrin had obtained an Abuja court injunction to stop his suspension by the committee.
Reacting to the suspension yesterday, Hon Jibrin wrote a letter to the House, attorney-general of the federation and security agencies, promising to continue his anti-corruption crusade. He also threatened to initiate charges of contempt of court against the speaker and the house.
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