House suspends Jibrin over “budget-padding” allegations
Former chairman of the House of Representatives’ appropriations committee Abdulmumin Jibrin has been suspended.
Reps say Jibrin breached “legislators’ privileges”.
The lawmaker had been “exposing” alleged involvement of Speaker Yakubu Dogara, four other principal officers and other lawmakers in Nigeria’s infamous “budget-padding” scandal.
Jibrin was handed a one-year suspension.
The sentence was handed down by the house’s ethics and privileges committee. Jibrin failed to show up to defend himself.
Jibrin was suspended following the committee’s report.
He will not perform his house duties for 180 legislative days – which spans almost a calendar year.
Femi Falana, who’s legal counsel to Jubrin, said the committee’s probe of his client violated Order 9 rule 5 of the house standing rules.
