By Erstwhile Appropriation committee chairman, Hon Abdulmumin Jibrin in his new release have given full details of the much talked about controversial running cost which each House Representative members receive and how most of them have diverted the funds to other personal spending.
In series of tweets yesterday, the lawmaker made it clear he is good been alone in the fight against corruption in the House, he said the decision of other members not to join in the crusade won’t deter him to get justice served in real time.
See his complete statement below…
“COMMENCEMENT OF DISCLOSURE OF THE CONTROVERSIAL ALLOWANCE OF MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
In line with my resolve to continue to expose individual & systemic corruption in House, I will today commence the disclosure of what many Nigerians believe is almost impossible to reveal or are not even aware of – the allowances of Members of the House.
My resolve to open up the controversial allowances should be instructive to those who think I am only out to get Dogara out of his seat. If that is my mission, I will definitely not go into the issue of allowances, which is the only aspect that unites the entire House
But if members & Nigerians feel at home with Dogara, a corrupt no 4 citizen, despite overwhelming allegations against him&his gang,so be it!
If my colleagues chose to support the Speaker, I wish them safe journey. But on this struggle, I shall continue even if Iam alone!
I will continue this crusade to wipe out corruption in the House & trigger internal reforms so that Nigerians can have the ideal representative. The imperative of having a corrupt-free House of Representatives cannot be over-emphasized
It is only when the House comes with purity that effective oversight can be done&investigative hearing to expose fraud can be undertaken. When the House is corrupt, it affects the whole country because the House of Representatives is the largest representation of Nigerians. This must be the focus of the fight against corruption. The root of our economic, political & social problems as a country lies in the House.
No amount of economic strategy will succeed in this country if we do not put hands together & decisively deal with corruption in the House.
Now we come to the crux of the matter. It should be noted, however, that money is voted as “running cost” to members apart from salaries. You don’t need a professor or a committee of technocrats to tell you what is reasonable as running cost for member of the House Reps and also how the money should be administered and who should be the recipient of the money. The way the allowances of members is currently structured can not pass the integrity test of any of the aforesaid.
The allowances is systemic corruption that should be dealt with in phases since you can not afford the systemic shock of a oneoff attack.
Today, I will start with the 10 Principal Officers of the House. If just these 10 are named and shamed it will force reform in the House. I will therefore provide what each one of them had collected as “office running cost” in their entire stay in the House.
If any one of them disputes my figure, they should not make drama out of it,just simply tell the country how much he or she has collected Running cost is a money collected by many members (with a few exception) and used as personal funds. No more, no less – case closed!
Most of these members use it to acquire properties, cars and live a life of luxury they never had before coming to the House Though there exist systems for retirement but a simple investigation by a primary school pupil will reveal the massive fraud therein. From computation of various sub heads of allowances of the House, the 10 Principal Officers received various amounts as follows.
Speaker Yakubu Dogara has been in the House from 2007 to date. He has received about 1.5billion naira
Deputy Speaker Yusuf Lasun has been in the house from 2011 to date. He has received about 800million naira
House Leader Femi Gbajabiamila has been in the House from 2003 to date. He has received about 1.2billion naira
Deputy House Leader Buba has been in the House from 2007 to date. He received about 1.2billion naira.
Whip Alhassan Doguwa has been in the House from 2003 to date. He has received about 1.2 billion naira
Deputy Whip Pally Iriase has been in the house from 2011 to date. He has received 700 million naira
Minority Leader Leo Ogor has been in the House from 2007 to date. He has received 1.2 billion naira
Deputy Minority Leader Barde has been in the House from 2011 to date. He has received 700 million naira
Minority Whip Chuma has been in the House from 2007 to date. He had received 800 million naira
And finally, Deputy Minority Whip Binta has been in the House from 2011 to date. She has received 700 million naira.
So in between these 10 Principal Officers, the country has pumped about 10 billion naira – and still counting!
As I have mentioned earlier, in most cases with few exceptions, these funds are diverted for personal use I will provide break down of these figures&names of more members with worst cases of diversion of such funds in due course to shame them. As we continue this struggle to wipe out corruption and restore sanity in the House of Representatives I urge Nigerians to remain vigilant as these corrupt elements can go to any length to change the narrative and evade justice. God bless.”
He however did not reveal the running costs he has been receiving, maybe that will be known in his coming release
