Dogara said it only took a simple question from President Buhari to the former chairman of house committee on appropriation, to make the allegation fizzle away.
Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house of representatives, has revealed how President Muhammadu Buhari shut Abdulmumin Jibrin up over the widely reported Budget Padding.
Dogara, in his biography authored by Dele Momodu, said it only took a simple question from President Buhari to the former chairman of house committee on appropriation, to make the allegation fizzle away.
The Speaker revealed that on meeting with Buhari to make his case, Jibrin was asked by the president if it is possible for four officers to pad a budget in a national assembly made up of 469 members — and told him not to raise the issue with him again without providing an answer or proof.
"As a principled and experienced leader that the President is, he sought to know where the other leaders of NASS were when the budget was padded by just four leaders of the house. None of our traducers could answer the question. Since he does not suffer fools gladly, he told them that except they answer the question nobody should bring up the subject matter to him again.
“That was how the lying cowards left him and never returned. They dare not mention anyone in the Senate or the House Leadership when every informed person knew that no position on any aspect of the budget can be taken without the concurrence of the Senate.”
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This question literally put paid to Jibrin's allegation of “budget padding” against Dogara, speaker of the house of representatives.
The Allegation
Jibrin had alleged that the 2016 budget was padded to the tune of over N284 billion by Dogara and three other principal officers of the house of reps.
The others are Lasun Yusuf (deputy speaker), Leo Ogor (minority leader) and Alhassan Doguwa (whip).