Budget Padding Scandal: EFCC Grills Jibrin, Summons Clerk, Others

An EFCC operative who spoke on the condition of anonymity, while confirming Jibrin’s visit, revealed that he was interrogated for about seven hours.

He said; “Jibrin came to our office to honour an invitation. His petition was voluminous and we needed clarification. He submitted more documents before leaving. We told him that we could call him again at any time.

“Based on the allegations and documents he submitted, we will invite other lawmakers, especially Yakubu Dogara, and members of the appropriations committee.”

Recall that Jibrin had accused Dogara, Deputy Speaker Yusuff Lasun, Chief Whip Alhassan Ado Doguwa, Minority Leader Leo Ogor and nine others of padding the budget with N284 billion.

READ ALSO: Dogara, Others To Face The Music As Presidency Dissociates Self From Budget Padding Scandal 

The anti-graft agency also invited the National Assembly Clerk, Mohammed Sani Omolori, and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and National Planning to produce documents on the contracts awarded by the Assembly and on the budget.

Omolori was asked to provide details of all contracts awarded and executed by the Assembly from June 2015 to date, while the Permanent Secretary is to provide documents on the budget.

The letter to Omolori read, “You are expected to provide a list of all contracts awarded by the Assembly from June 2015 to date.”

The letter said the Assembly must “provide the beneficiaries of the contracts, the account details into which payments were made, the total amount already paid for each contract as well as the outstanding balances where applicable.”

Also, the EFCC asked the Permanent Secretary to provide it with a “draft copy of the 2016 budget submitted to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari and the final copy returned to the President by the National Assembly.”