I
write you this letter to express the deep agony and pains that overwhelmed me
when I watched a person with soiled reputation preside over the House sitting
on Wednesday.
It
was another bout of mental torment when I watched you taking advantage of the
office of the Speaker and publicity inherent to vomit all sort of lies in a
desperate bid to attract public sympathy, paint me in bad light and use the
institution of the House to cover the fraud you perpetrated in the 2016 budget
and other monumental corrupt practices.
It is
therefore no surprise that rather than address the allegations of budget fraud
and corruption I specifically leveled against you, 3 Principal officers and a
few other members (not the entire House), and open it up for discussion if you
have nothing to hide, you embarked on a wild goose chase.
Every
right-thinking person knows that you were acting a shameful script by referring
the matter to the Ethics Committee so that you can conveniently be a judge in
your own case. You didn't even refer the allegations against you to the Ethics
Committee but rather chose to refer a so-called "breach of privilege of
members" in a clear attempt to force members to carry your cross through a
well-orchestrated blackmail.
To
hide a lie, a saying goes, a thousand more lies are needed. Contrary to what
you said in your speech, where you recklessly quoted TS Elliot, your so called
maturity and silence during the last two months were simply because you are
guilty as charged. And you know too well you are!
In
any case, you are aware the privilege of a member does not accord him or her
immunity to being exposed if involved in corrupt practices. And if exposing
budget fraud and corruption amounts to misconduct, then prepare for even the
worst misconduct in the next few days.
You
have successfully dragged 360 members into an offense committed by you and a
few others. In the next few days, members will have to decide whether they are
with you or with millions of conscientious Nigerians. No action that symbolizes
corruption than standing with an embodiment of corruption.
Mr
Speaker, I was taken aback when I heard on good authority that you were
boasting that Nigerians will soon forget, and I will be left alone. Smiling
sheepishly, my mind made an instant flashback, reflecting the struggle and
sacrifice we made to make you what you are today. I then wondered how you
forget the stuff I am made of and the courage of my conviction so easily. I conclude
you underestimated how resolute I could be to champion a cause I believe in or
stay on the side of the truth. My conscience is the guiding torch of behavior,
you need to be reminded.
Mr
Speaker, it was a shameless act to behold seeing you hitting the gavel and
asking that investigation of such weighty allegations be conducted and report
submitted back to you within one week. Just imagine that after the petitions I
submitted against you, Mr President directed the anti graft agencies to conduct
investigation and submit report within one week. You would have been shouting
foul play all over. Even with the civilized approach of the anti-graft agencies
you still went on air to say they cannot investigate or prosecute you. You have
refused to appear before the anti-graft agencies despite pressure from the
general public for you to go and clear your name.
Mr.
Speaker, it is dismaying to note that the House is already sitting on a keg of
gunpowder. Let's see if history will repeat itself or history will be made. In
any case, if we look at the history of the House, where are the accused and
where are the accusers today? Who laughed last? Once you stick to the truth,
God will be with you! You might force your illegal suspension on me, but I care
less because I have optimism that most of you will go to jail.
In
your speech, you called on the Government to take responsibility for the
recession. It is leaders like you who steal public money front, back and center
and abuse their offices that destroyed our economy and brought us down to
ground zero that should take responsibility.
Your
call on Mr President to address a joint sitting is a desperate bid to use the
unblemished reputation of Mr President to shore up your battered reputation and
credibility. I cannot make decision for the President, but If I were the
President, I will simply relate with you with a long spoon because of the
irritating and stinking reputation you have earned.
You
know very well that while you presided over the House on Wednesday, most Nigerians
and those of us that didn't put on the #iStandWithCorruption mufflers didn't
see a Speaker in you. We saw a fraudster, a rogue and a criminal who has become
a disgrace to the institution of the House. Why are you afraid to open up the
matter for discussion? Why do you find it too much a sacrifice for the country
to step down and allow for a free and fair investigation to save the image of
the House? It is clear you will do anything to hold on to power even on the altar
of blackmailing your colleagues. It will be tragic if the House condones a
situation where some few corrupt members will commit offense, and then use the
institution of the House as a shield to evade justice. This is the script you
are trying to implement. I assure you we will do everything within the precinct
of our powers so that the corrupt members like you will be fished out and dealt
with to preserve the sanctity of the institution.
On a
final note, I have the following posers for you: Did you consult your
colleagues when you and the 3 other principal officers stole our 40 billion? Or
when you diverted federal governments projects to your farm? Who did you
consult when you inserted fraudulent projects worth about 20billion naira into
the budget? Didn't you and members of your cabal go solo when you inserted
about 2000 projects worth 284 billion naira into the budget, or when you
manipulated the house rules and inserted draconian clauses, a House rule you
continue to use despite the fact that it is a subject of litigation? What about
the way you abused trust in the 2015 SDG? Or how you tried to force me to
fraudulently insert projects worth about 30 billion naira in the budget? Can
you explain how you absconded with 20% of inputs meant for the House after the
harmonization? How about cutting a chunk off members' emoluments for rent of
houses and guest houses? Why did you refuse to circulate copies of the internal
budget of the House? How about mismanaging finances of the House through
questionable procurements? How about trying to use running cost of members for
a fraudulent mortgage and many more?
Mr
Speaker these are the allegations against you. All members of the House are
aware that I have raised these allegations, and whether they act on it or not
Nigerians are watching. But what remains clear is that you have become a lame
duck Speaker who is vulnerable and cannot walk with his head high. Do you
expect all these allegations to be swept under the carpet? You have neither
attempted nor addressed these allegations but you move around freely and try to
keep a bold face. Do you really love this country? Do you really love the House
or care about its image? Search your conscience, make a soul-searching and do
the right thing by stepping down with the 3 others to allow for a free, fair and
unbiased investigation in collaboration with the ongoing external
investigation.
The
House is an institution that always stands for justice, equity and fairness.
How damaging will it be when the House cannot deal with issues of internal
corruption in a transparent manner? With a situation like this and more so with
a rotten head, who do you expect to take the House serious? How do you
oversight or investigate others? You have made the House a laughing stock. You
think Nigerians are fools? Try for once to look beyond the muffler-adorning
members and listen to the voices of 200 million Nigerians. If you succeed in
blackmailing your colleagues, you cannot blackmail Nigerians. Let's not take
the patience of Nigerians for granted.
When
Francis Fukuyama wrote the book The End of History and the Last Man in 1992, he
was not saying the world has come to an end but simply indicating the emergence
of the last and final world order. What happened yesterday on the floor of the
House was just the end of another beginning. The emergence of a struggle to
establish a new order in the House of Representatives that will expose and deal
with all forms of corruption both systemic and individual.
Mr
Speaker, this struggle is like the rising sun, it is unstoppable. There is nothing
you can do on earth to stop it. No amount of lobbying, legislative antics or
blackmail of members of the House, Senate, Executive arm or individuals outside
the House can help you and your cabal of few corrupt members. The day of
reckoning is so close.
We all know you blackmailed
members to get support and wear mufflers in a show of shame to celebrate you
due to the abundance of systemic corruption (which people like you instituted)
in the House that makes many members vulnerable and dependent. To you it was a
"smart" move. You just want the entire House to go down with you
because you know I will pull the trigger. It is gladdening that some courageous
members defied your blackmail and rose to the occasion. History will be kind to
them.
History
will remember you as the Speaker who brought down and endanger the reputation
of the House through budget fraud and monumental corruption. The House must
embrace reforms. It is a reform you have lost the moral ground to superintend.
How on earth a person like you who committed the biggest budget fraud in the
history of the House will supervise budget reforms? It is time you woke up from
your dream and embrace reality. The time has come, Whether you like it or not,
justice will be served on you, Lasun, Doguwa and Ogor.
God
bless Nigeria.
Yours
in service to the nation,
Hon Abdulmumin Jibrin PhD MBA
(APC-Kano)
Kiru-Bebeji Fe
September 22, 2016.
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