Lawmaker Jibrin Says House of Reps Invitation “A Witch Hunt”

Former chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin has reacted to the decision by the House of Representatives requesting him to appear before it to answer questions on fresh petitions levelled against him.

In his reaction via a series of tweets on his Twitter account, Jibrin said his invitation was diversionary and a continuation of the witch hunt against his person by Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

He wrote, “I read from several media platforms that Speaker Dogara using the House of Reps has invited me to appear yet again before the ethics committee over two fresh petitions on absenteeism and poor representation and operating a foreign account.

“These petitions came from a nonentity sponsored by Dogara that calls itself a youth organisation under the fraudulent Ikenga Ugo Chinyere.

“It is curious that the ethics committee rejected 18 petitions against the Speaker and some principal officers of the House bothering on monumental budget fraud, abuse of office and massive corruption, but shameless have reduced its entire activities to witch hunt Hon. Jibrin.

“This latest assault is coming because the security and anti-graft agencies have made advance progress on investigation which has lead to the freezing of the accounts of some Principal Officers including the Minority Leader Leo Ogor where large sums of illicit funds were found.

“This has created a huge tension in the House and the man to blame and who must be dealt with decisively through any means is Hon Jibrin.

“This is in addition to the international dimension the issue has taken through my effort and that of other well meaning Nigerians.

“While thousands of Nigerians in the diaspora are signing a global petition calling for the arrest and prosecution of Speaker Dogara and others, a team of competent lawyers in the UK have concluded plans to file a petition at the Interpol and FBI over N500 billion stolen through the running cost scheme designed by Speaker Dogara as Chairman House services in the 6th Assembly.

“The lawyers identified various instances and laws under which people who created such scams can be prosecuted at the international level.

“I have reacted to the lies and misinformation regarding the issues of the accounts in a statement I released two days ago and also the issue of poor representation and absenteeism is simply laughable.

“I will make a formal statement on the invitation and petitions when I receive an official communication from the Speaker or his agents. I wish to state that this disgraceful action is an extension of the witch hunt launched against me by Dogara and his cabal in the House to paint me in a negative light and divert attention away from the allegations of massive budget fraud and corruption hanging on their necks.”