House of Reps members ask EFCC to investigate budget padding against Speaker Dogara

A group of lawmakers at the House of Representatives who go by the name ‘Transparency Group’ have called on the EFCC to investigate claims of budget padding leveled against Speaker Yakubu Dogara and three other principal officers of the House by sacked chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja yesterday July 27th, the leader of the group, Musa Soba, said Dogara and other principal officers mentioned in the budget padding scam as well as Abdulmumin Jibrin, former Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations, should be investigated by relevant external government agencies.

“We call for an external investigation into the matter, to enable us know if our principal officers are guilty or not.

For this group, we say the budget was padded and as such, the budget being a document that belongs to all Nigerians, it is no longer an internal affair” he said. Sabo added that Dogara, the deputy speaker of the House, the majority whip and the minority leader should confront the allegations leveled against them as individuals and stop making it look like it’s all the lawmakers that have been accused of budget padding. “We urge the leadership of the House of Representatives to stop presenting the 2016 budget padding allegations as the problem of the entire House.

Let those at the centre of the controversy answer to all the allegations made against them individually and collectively in line with legal practice and our criminal justice system,”.