The embattled Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara reportedly whisked off his security details as caucuses meeting he attended on Monday night, where he allegedly begged lawmakers colleagues for forgiveness turned chaotic.
Addressing the journalist on Tuesday after the plenary, a former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, claimed that the Speaker attended separate meetings of the six zonal caucuses in the House on Monday night.
According to Punch Newspaper, Jibrin alleged that during the meetings, the Speaker “begged” for forgiveness for himself and his “co-accused” persons.
Jibrin said Dogara was “begging members to forgive him and the other principal officers mentioned for whatever offences they may have committed…it was a pitiful sight.”
He added, “We were waiting for him as the leader of the caucus to tell him we no longer want him…and if he doubts it, I challenge him to convene a meeting of the caucus in 24 hours or even one week.”
The former appropriation committee chairman also alleged that he was denied an opportunity to state his case during the meeting.
Jibrin further alleged that the situation became so tense that the Speaker was “literally whisked away by his security details” to avoid the wrath of members present.
However, Jibrin reiterated his call for the resignation of the Speaker and three other principal officers of the House, whom he accused of budget fraud.
According to him, the time is ripe for either the Ethics and Privileges Committee or a specially constituted committee of the House to probe the 20 allegations of wrongdoing against the Speaker, including the N40bn “budget padding” allegation.
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