Budget Padding: Gbajabiamila Surrenders Self For Investigation, Denies Sponsoring Jibrin To Raise Allegations

SAN FRANCISCO, August 20, (THEWILL) – The Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila says he has subjected himself to police investigation over budget padding allegations raised by the ousted Appropriation Committee chairman of the House, Hon. Abdumumini Jibrin.

While denying any involvement in the alleged fraud, the Lagos lawmaker stated that the Speaker and other principal officers fingered in the alleged scam deserve a benefit of doubt, noting that they had at their executive meeting denied allegations levied against them by Jibrin.

The House Leader, who was in the race for the Speakership of the Lower Chamber, described speculations that he sponsored Jibrin to levy such weighty allegations against Speaker Yakubu Dogara and others as untrue.

“This is important to me as insinuations have been made from many quarters that I, along with others were sponsoring Hon Jibrin. I have just this afternoon met with the police authorities for a proper and thorough investigation of my role, if any, in this whole bizzare episode,” he said.

Although Gbajabiamila was not among those alleged to have padded the budget to the tune of N40bn, he said it was important to make himself available for investigation so as to clear his name from the alleged impropriety.

He however confirmed that the sack of Jibrin as the Appropriation committee chairman was a collective decision.

Gbajabiamila said, “At the meeting Speaker Dogara, Deputy Speaker Lasun , Chief Whip, Hon Ado Dogwa and Minority Leader, Hon Leo Ogor passionately and vigorously clearly stated their innocence. A prepared text was read and we all agreed to sign. For me as the Leader of the House I felt it was important to give them the benefit of doubt which in any case is what our constitution says. The decision to relieve Hon Jibrin was indeed a collective decision of which I was a part of.”

“However I gave a caveat before the press release was signed, I made it clear to my colleagues in the leadership that because somehow my name had been soiled in all of this and fake documents and publications had been put out there in traditional and social media which stated I was also involved in the so called padding of the budget, that I would need to clear my name and that even though no petition was filed against me by Hon Jibrin and no invitation was extended to me by the police, I would be submitting myself on my own volition to the police for investigation.”