A member of Transparency Group, a pressure group in the Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Lawal Gumau, has confirmed that the lower legislative chamber has been engaged in the padding of Nigeria’s budget since 2011.
Representative Lawal Gumau, who was speaking on Sunrise Daily said: “since 2011 when I came, there was no year when there was no padding.
According to him, budget padding has been going on before the 7th Assembly as members of the 6th Assembly had warned them that it will happen and “we started fighting it since then.
“After the budget is prepared from the committees, it goes to the Appropriation Committee and they will work on the budget and return it to the members in the chamber for everybody to see, read and agree on it. Padding does not come in up till that point.
“Immediately after the House has passed the budget, before they submit it to the President is when the padding (is effected).”
The lawmaker said: “members will not know that after they passed the budget, something (additional line projects) was inserted,” saying that such insertions were often made without the consent of the whole House.
Representative Gumau, however, made it clear that he is neither in support of either Speaker Yakubu Dogara or Representative Abdulmumini Jibrin, but that he is in support of the allegations made against the leadership of the House.
He said that what his group wants is for the allegations made by Jibrin to be investigated by the appropriate authorities.
“What is the Attorney General of the Federation doing; is he not the law officer? If there is a petition, can’t he investigate or give an order for an investigation to be carried out?
“We have EFCC, we have ICPC; we have the Nigeria Police. What are they doing that they cannot investigate? What we are saying is that the House opens this issue for an investigation.”
The lawmaker insisted that the internal mechanism of the House be jettisoned even as he said that this is the time the anti-graft agencies should rise up to their duties, arguing that they would not be seen as interfering with the business of the House.
He likened the situation to the trial of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, over alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Rules, insisting: “it is the same thing with padding. If the investigation takes place and it is convincingly explained to everybody in Nigeria that there was no padding, then we will rest our case.” [myad]
