The House of Representatives on Thursday insisted that the suspended former Chairman of its Appropriations Committee, Abdulmumin Jibrin, must apologise before he would be re-admitted to the House.
The Chairman, Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazaq Namdas, who stated this during a weekly media session in Abuja, explained why Jibrin had not been re-admitted after spending a full legislative year on suspension.
The former appropriations committee chairman was suspended before the House went on the annual recess at the end of the 2016 legislative year.
On Thursday, Namdas said Jibrin had not completed his 180-day suspension. According to him, Jibrin must notify the House formally after the completion of the suspension.
He said he must meet other conditions listed by the Ethics and Privileges Committee of the House.
He stated, “I have also asked the Ethics and Privileges Committee Chairman about the issue and he said the 180 days suspension is not over.
“Jibrin will also have to notify the House. He will write an apology letter too. You know there are other conditions he will have to meet to complete the procedure.”
But on his tweeter handle, the suspended lawmaker wrote, “One year today of denying my constituents’ representation in the House and one year taken off my four years constitutional mandate, only in Nigeria.”
Also in a statement by his Media Aide, Godwin Onyeacholem, Jibrin said that he was ready “to make whatever sacrifice for the good of the House of Representatives and Nigeria as a whole, so that posterity will remember him on the good side of history.”
He also described Namdas’ comments as insensitive and insultive to the people of his constituency. He said the people of his constituency, Kiru/Bebeji of Kano State, had protested his suspension.
He stated, “It is somewhat weird that the official spokesman for the House claims that he does not know the exact date that Jibrin’s purported suspension would lapse. That in itself speaks volume of the subterfuge and sinister motives around the whole issue.”
The Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, had on July 20, 2016 announced the removal of Jibrin as the chairman of the appropriations committee.
The former appropriations committee chairman, a few days later, accused Dogara and other principal officers of budget padding.
He released documents to support his allegations and submitted petitions to the Department of State Services, the police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Meanwhile, Namadas on Thursday explained why the Speaker had not inaugurated Mrs. Dorothy Mato (Benue APC), who replaced Herman Hember that was sacked by the Supreme Court.
