Budget Padding: When Madman Kills His Witchdoctor, Goke Butika

Still on budget padding at the National Assembly, the former chairman, Appropriation committee of the House of Representatives, Dr. Abdulmumin Jubrin, 40, has vowed not make it half full, while Speaker Dogara, our own Deputy Speaker Lasun Yusuf and others have insisted in not taking the matter half empty; suggesting that "several legs would be in one length of a pair of trousers.

The entire drama is interesting but not funny. While the leadership of the House of Representatives is living in denial, Jubrin, an academic turned lawmaker has advanced his "cause" by deliberately knocking the doors of anti-graft agencies and security agencies with aim of inviting them to look into the books of the parliament, particularly on budget fraud which was lexically coined as "padding".

In the raging struggle, three schools of thought emerged: the first one are those who want the message to be held serious irrespective of the character value of the whistleblower; the school of thought are those who read vendetta or reprisal attack to the intention of the messenger and the third school of thought are those who see no crime in the drama of absurd.

The first school of thought appeals to our reason, they believe that, for Jubrin to have shouted on the rooftop with some level of comfort and claim to incriminating evidence against the leadership of the house, he must have been very sure of his fact. To them, Jubrin was part of the budget process which was allegedly padded, and he actually coordinated the padding, and being a member with cognate experience in the inner workings of the house, plus being an establishment guy, he knows more than anyone speculating on the issue.

However, those who were of the opinion that that Jubrin is acting spoiler because he was thrown out of his seat as the Appropriation committee chairman, holding that the timing was wrong. They argued that he ought to have shouted while the criminal padding was being done, but they have not disputed Jubrin on the criminal padding paddled by the leadership of the house.

The third school of thought, seems kowtow to the narrative of the establishment that the padding does not exist but budget process which the nation's constitution empowers the parliament to work on, varies figures if possible and approve. So, to them, Jubrin was singing because he is bitter about his removal.

A critical look at the arguments of the three schools shows that only the first school of thought wants us to employ reason on the process and procedure that led to the budget padding, and that was the argument that drew our attention to the untold story behind the refusal of President Muhamnadu Buhari to sign the budget in the first place, and that demands some questions on what obtained under the table while Deputy Speaker Lasun's committee was tasked to rework the padded figures. While the two other schools premised their argument on emotion and jejune premises.

Meanwhile, I am beginning to believe story of Jubrin, not because the guy is clean or has noble intention, but because an argument is considered to be true either necessarily or Contingently, if premises are laid on propositional, veridical or empirical facts with justifications. Jubrin appears to have outsmarted Dogara, Lasun and others with his facts and evidential proof which are yet to be contradicted. Obviously, silence is no longer golden on this issue.

Having gone through the fact checks, one thing is very clear, that corruption has no tribal or religious sentiment-Dogara, a Christian is Hausa man, Lasun, a Muslim is a Yoruba man, and Leo Ogor, a Christian is an Ibo man. So, when I see some Nigerians playing religious or tribal sentiment on election or appointment, I pity the people who are yet to recognize that they are just mere pawns on the chessboard of the corrupt few who hod their nation by the jugular.

Anyway, with the way Jubrin has waged his new war against his "comrades in crime" appears to be unprecedented in the history of Nigeria rigmaroled budget process, but not new, because there is always a constant conjunction that thieves would fight over their loot. We should  encourage the President to maintain a straight face on this issue as usual, because what sauces for Saraki at the senate,  sauces for Dogara, Lasun and others at the House of Representatives. Padding is forgery, and the characters involved must be brought to justice.

Butikakuro is an intercontinental journalist.

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Panic In 'Corruption' House of Reps Over Move To IMPEACH Dogara; Gbajabiamila Steps In

Following a palpable tension in the corruption ridden House of Representatives on Monday over an alleged plot to remove the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara,  the Majority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, reportedly stepped in and doused the tension among factions by urging members to have faith in the leadership of the House under Dogara.

The tension was heightened over the budget padding allegations made by a former Chairman of the Committee on Appropriation, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin, News Punch understands

Many members according to Punch Newspaper were ruffled, forcing a large number of them to rush from their vacation spots to meetings in Abuja where the alleged plot was discussed.

Hon. Gbajabiamila from Lagos State has kept sealed lips over the budget crisis since it started on July 21.

Gbajabiamila had refused to speak openly in support of Jibrin or Dogara, and the three other principal officers whom Jibrin had accused of padding the 2016 Budget.

The others are the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Yussuff Lasun; the Chief Whip, Mr. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa; and the Minority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor.

It was learnt that some persons in the House in a text message that members of the House received on Monday accused Gbajabiamila of siding with Jibrin to remove Dogara because of his silence.

“This group circulated a text message among members, giving the impression that there would be a leadership change in the House.

“They attempted to re-open the old Dogara-Gbajabiamila rivalry and create mayhem,” a senior legislative official told our source on Monday

The source of the text message was unknown as of the time of filing this report.

It read, “Plot to destabilise the leadership of the House of Reps has taken a new dimension as the Attorney-General of the Federation, working with Gbajabiamila, Jibrin and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, has drafted charges to arraign and detain principal officers of the House so that the Transparency Group, who recently met with Tinubu’s wife, will effect a leadership change with Gbajabiamila as Speaker and Jibrin as the Deputy.

“This is why Jibrin did not mention Femi (Gbajabiamila) in his allegations. The 8th House won’t be anybody’s rubber stamp. We will resist them like the Senate resisted them.”

Alarmed by the message, it was gathered that Gbajabiamila wrote members to calm them, urging them to disregard the text.

He also explained that he had kept silent to avoid his comments being mistaken for taking sides.

Gbajabiamila told members that he chose to break his silence because the text message gave the wrong signal.

Gbajabiamila’s communication to members, which was sent via text message reads in part:

“Since the budget controversy that engulfed the House about a week ago, I have pointedly maintained a dignified silence. I did this for the sake of the institution that I represent and which I have laboured hard to grow and protect, knowing that whatever I say could be impactful both within the House and outside it.

“I was determined to keep in place the glue that holds an otherwise fragmented House, protect its integrity and at same time avoid eroding the little confidence and vestiges of hope Nigerians have in us.

“Unfortunately, the controversy has now taken a different turn following the rather strange text making the rounds among members about my complicity in this rather sordid matter. I am being dragged into an arena I tried very hard to stay out of for the good of the House.

“The speakership election has come and gone. The election was divisive and acrimonious, but I have worked hard to heal the wounds, some of which still fester among members on both sides. It is my responsibility to bring together all tendencies in the House and I have worked well with the Speaker and all other principal officers in the interest of the institution and the country.

“The text message, which desperately seeks to finger me in some macabre plot to destabilise the House, is a throwback and echoes our dark post-speakership election history. The resurfacing of the faceless text messengers will not help us as a House, and let me quickly add that it will fail.

 “My strongest critics and biggest political adversaries in the House cannot deny the fact that my commitment has always been to strengthen the legislature and its processes and our democracy as a whole.

 “I consider everyone a friend and colleague and urge that as we collectively work towards a stronger legislature and strive to deepen our democracy, we do not pull back the hands of the clock or lose sight of the enormous responsibility placed upon us by providence as members of a critical arm of government.”

On Jibrin’s budget padding allegations, Gbajabiamila noted that judgment could not be passed on any official based on mere allegations.

 He stressed that before the law, an accused remained innocent until proven guilty.

 “It is clear that our budget process needs radical reform. Allegations have been made, but I strongly believe that judgment should not be passed based on allegations.

“We operate a constitutional democracy and we must at all times submit to its dictates and ethos. All parties are innocent until otherwise proven.

“This should be our guide. I plead with all members; the mudslinging must stop,” Gbajabiamila added.

When contacted, the Minority Leader of the House, Mr. Leo Ogor, stated that the alleged plot against Dogara should be discarded.

Ogor said people were taking Jibrin’s allegations too seriously and forgot to ask him basic questions.

 He expressed shock that Jibrin, who was sacked for allegedly “mutilating” the budget could be taken seriously when he “cooked up lies just to cause confusion everywhere.”

He said, “Ask Jibrin, why did President Muhammadu Buhari first refuse to sign the budget when he (Jibrin) produced it without the details?

“Are zonal intervention projects part of the budget process since 1999? Why has it become a crime today that the National Assembly passed zonal intervention projects in the budget?

“The N4bn he put for himself; how did he get it?”

Ogor stated that nobody should “dream of the idea” of removing Dogara because the House was not thinking in the direction.

“There is fair hearing. Someone made allegations that have no basis, then the next day, you say remove Dogara.

“Any smokescreen to remove Dogara is a failed project even before it starts; a completely failed project.

“Disregard that text; it has no basis”, he said.

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Like Saraki, Dogara In Trouble With FG As Jibrin Submits Petitions To EFCC, ICPP, Police With Incriminating Evidence

Like Dr. Bukola Saraki at the Senate counterpart, the Speaker of the House of the Representative, Yakubu Dogara may soon have a taste of prosecution over the alleged padding of the 2016 appropriation bill, as the embattled sacked chairman of the budget committee, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin this afternoon submitted petitions against the speaker to the antigraft agencies and the police.

Jibrin, on Monday, made true his threat to submit a petition against Speaker Yakubu Dogara and three principal officers of the House to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices And Related Offences Commission, ICP and the Police

Jibrin was sighted at the Yellow House headquarters of the EFCC this afternoon in Abuja to formally deliver his petition against his colleagues for allegedly padding the 2016 budget with as much as N40b.

The lawmaker had earlier stated on his twitter handle that he would be visiting some anti-graft agencies in a bid to substantiate his allegation of budget padding against the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara and other principal officers of the House.

Jibrin had recently accused the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Yusuf Lasun, Chief Whip, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, and the Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, of attempting to pad N40bn into the 2016 budget.

Jibrin said his aim of visiting the various anti-corruption agencies is to ensure that Dogara and the other principal officers are brought to justice.

According to the former Chairman, he will fully cooperate with investigators to enable them understand the depth of budget fraud and abuse of office by the Speaker.

“We will be at the ICPC 10am, DSS 12noon, EFCC 2pm and Police HQ 4pm. The law will surely catch up with the corrupt Speaker Dogara and others.

“My lawyers have confirmed my appointments for today with security and anti corruption agencies to personally provide insight on my petition.”

Jibrin, while giving an insight into his petition, said his case against the Speaker and others include, “corrupt enrichment, abuse of office and public trust, living above means, massive movement of funds in the budget.

“Our petition to the EFCC and ICPC against Speaker Dogara, Lasun, Doguwa, Ogor and eight other members have been dispatched yesterday,” he added.

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Budget Scandal: Pressure Mounts On Dogara, Others To Resign

Punch Newspaper - The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project and some eminent lawyers on Sunday called on the Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, and other principal officers of the House, who were alleged to have compromised the integrity of the 2016 budget, to step aside for proper investigation to be carried out into the allegations.

A former House Committee Chairman on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, who was removed as the committee chairman two weeks ago, had alleged that the four principal officers requested the inclusion of N40bn projects in the 2016 budget.

Aside Dogara, other principal officers named in the budget padding saga are the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Yussuff Lasun; the Chief Whip, Mr. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa; and the Minority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor.

A human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), in an interview with The PUNCH, said leaders of the House, who had been implicated in the budget padding scam, should step aside from their positions in order to give way for thorough investigations.

Falana had, earlier in a statement on Sunday, urged the police and the nation’s anti-graft agencies to take over the investigations into the alleged scam from the Department of State Services.

He also told one of our correspondents on the telephone that all those involved in the scam should step aside the same as Jibrin, who was also accused of padding the budget with N4bn projects for his constituency in Kano State, was removed.

 “Since Jibirn has stepped down. It is logical that others, who have been implicated in the scam, to step down,” Falana said.

But the human rights lawyer, in his statement, said the DSS lacked both “the moral and legal rights” to carry out the probe.

He said the DSS had, by its recent acts, could not be trusted with such responsibility.

He cited the DSS recent arrest and detention of the principal officers and administrative staff of the Zamfara State House of Assembly for attempting to commence impeachment proceedings against Governor Abubakar Yari on the grounds of alleged corrupt practices

He noted that there was no legal backing for the DSS to embark on such investigation as the agency, according to the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, by virtue of the National Security Agencies Act, is strictly limited to the “preservation and detection within Nigeria of any crime against the internal security of Nigeria.”

He also said the police as well as other anti-graft agencies should be allowed to get to the roots of the scam and bring the culprits to book.

Falana said, “Curiously, the State Security Service (Department of State Services) is alleged to have usurped the statutory duties of the police and the anti-graft agencies by taking over the investigations into the padding of the budget.

“Having regard to the recent activities of the SSS and the clear provisions of the relevant laws on investigation of corruption and other economic and financial crimes, the SSS lacks the moral right and legal powers to interfere in the investigation of the criminal allegation of padding of the budget in any manner whatsoever.”

Falana also demanded that the investigation should be extended to an alleged diversion of over N300bn in the name of constituency projects by past and serving federal legislators.

“At the end of the investigations, all the suspects, who are indicted, should be charged to court while the funds allegedly stolen by them should be recovered.

Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Adeniyi Akintola, said even though it was the “honourable” thing for the affected lawmakers to do, there had been no public officer, who had, on his or her volition, decided to quit an office over corruption allegation in Nigeria.

In an open letter to the Speaker, SERAP asked Dogara to step aside to allow investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other agencies.

The letter, dated July 29, 2016, was signed by SERAP Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni.

It stated, “Following confirmation received by SERAP from the EFCC that it has taken up and looking into SERAP’s petition to the body on the allegations that the leadership of the House of Representatives padded the 2016 budget to the tune of N481bn, SERAP is now writing to request you to immediately step aside from your position as the Speaker of the House of Representatives pending the outcome of the investigation.

“We also urge you to ensure that other principal officers of the House, suspected to be involved in the alleged padding, step aside from their positions to allow for the investigation by the EFCC and other agencies to go ahead unhindered.”

According to it, the case  deserves a thorough, transparent, independent and effective investigation by the EFCC and other agencies.

The Publicity Secretary of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, believed that the current budget padding scam in the House, had also underscored the belief that corruption had become deep-seated in the country.

He said “Unfortunately, the budget has been signed, which makes it a law that cannot be investigated. There is, however, a moral burden over the weighty allegations that require coming clean by the leadership of the House.

‘‘People are, however, not oblivious of the fact that until we deal with the architecture of corruption, the scourge will be dancing from one spot to another and we will only be screaming when the symptoms manifest.”

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DSS Seals Off Reps Budget Secretariat Over Dogara's Invasion To Seize Vital Evidences

Following the allegation by Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin that Speaker Yakubu and three others accused in the ongoing 2016 budget padding scandal, the secretariat of the House Committee on Appropriation has been placed on lock and key by Nigerian Secret Police, the Department of State Security, DSS.

The SSS officials stormed the secretariat, which serves as offices for the 40-member appropriation committee and its staff, and immediately placed it under lock and key, Premium Times confirms

The closure marked the latest development in the ongoing political and media war between the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and a lawmaker from Kano State, Abdulmumin Jibrin, over alleged manipulation of line items and figures in the 2016 Appropriation Bill.

Mr. Jibrin began working to oust Mr. Dogara from office a day after the Speaker announced his removal as chairman of Appropriation Committee on allegations that he committed serial betrayal of trust.

The sources said the SSS also sealed Mr. Jibrin’s office at Room 1.05 in the New House of Representatives building.

The development followed Mr. Jibrin’s statement on Thursday that Mr. Dogara ordered removal of workstation from the Appropriation Committee Secretariat and allegedly attempted to break into his office.

Mr. Jibrin had reportedly visited the SSS Headquarters on Friday to brief the agency about the budget padding scandal rocking the House. He also called on EFCC and ICPC to commence the investigation into the crisis with a view to prosecuting those involved.

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The Jibrin Plot and How Dogara May Go The Way of Saraki

RipplesNigeria - The peace and harmony the House of Representatives seemingly enjoyed following the crisis over the election of its principal officers, was shattered recently soon after Honourable Abdumumin Jibrin (APC-Kano) was relieved of his position.

Jibrin, the erstwhile Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation was sacked by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara.

This move did not go down well with Jibrin, who set forth a torrent of allegations against the Speaker, accusing him of padding the 2016 budget and influence peddling.

He also accused Dogara’s deputy, Lasun Yusuf, Chief Whip, Ado-Doguwa and Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, of alleged financial recklessness.

Despite threats by the leadership of the House to wield the big stick against the Kano born lawmaker, including dragging him before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and a lawsuit threat against him by the Speaker, Jibrin has stuck to his guns, insisting Dogara and the others are guilty of the allegations.

He vowed to reel out breeches by Dogara on a daily basis, a promise he has so far kept.

A twist was however added to the drama, when a new group in the House, Transparency Group, came out calling for the prosecution of the speaker and the three other principal officers, based on Jibrin’s allegations.

The group, which claimed to have the signatures of 102 honourable members, also disclaimed the House spokesman, Abdulrazak Namdas, saying his position on the controversy was not the position of the House, and therefore was not speaking on behalf of all members.

They also noted that the allegations were not against the House but the speaker and the three principal officers.

The Transparency group has therefore called on the EFCC, and the ICPC to take a closer look at the accusations against Dogara, and act on a petition sent to them, by coming into the house to investigate the allegations.

There are fears in some quarters that the entrance of the group into the Dogara/Jibrin faceoff may just be the beginning of another episode in the House of Representatives in a fashion similar to the current happening in the Senate.

It would be recalled that the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, are facing criminal prosecution over alleged forgery of the Senate rules 2015.

The prosecution of the duo, seen in many quarters as political persecution over their emergence against the wishes of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has continued to cause tension and suspicion in the Senate that is grossly polarized between the Like Minds and the Unity Forum.

The emergence of the Transparency Group, hitherto unknown and its insistence on the probe and prosecution of Dogara and his co-travellers, is akin to the situation in the Senate with the Unity Forum consistently calling for the head of Saraki and Ekweremadu.

The current controversy and push for Dogara’s prosecution is seen by many as an attempt to completely decimate the influence and effectiveness of the National Assembly and render it impotent.

Many Nigerians are therefore wondering if this is part of a plan to discredit the legislature and bring it to public ridicule. Could Honourable Jibrin be acting out a script written and directed by the APC and the presidency, as both have never hidden their displeasure over how leaders of both chambers emerged?

What is the motive behind the vehemence with which Jibrin is pursuing his allegations and since when has the Transparency Group been in existence?

There are also thinking in some quarters, that the new twist to the House crisis, may just put Dogara in the same scenario as Saraki who is presently being distracted from his official duties by prosecutions for his alleged role in certain actions taken in the legislative chamber.

As Jibrin continues to reel out alleged crimes by Dogara, and the calls for anti-graft agencies to step in getting louder, how soon the Speaker may have to face the courts is anybody’s guess.

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Dogara Offers $20,000 Bribe Each To C'ttee Members To Smear Jibrin: The Speaker Reacts

The corruption rocking the House of representative getting more alarming daily as the embattled Chairman of the appropriation committee, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin again accused the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara of offering $20,000 each to all members of the appropriation committee to smear him over the damning corruption revelation he is disclosing about the Speaker and some principal officers.

Dogara had earlier sacked and accused Jibrin of single-handedly doctoring the 2016 budget. 

Apparently in denial of the allegation, Dogara through his Deputy Chief of Staff, CID Maduabum said he did not at any time meet or hand over any money of any sort to any member of the appropriation committee.

He said, “my attention has been drawn to a statement issued by the disgraced and sacked former chairman of appropriation committee, Abdulmumin Jibrin wherein he falsely, recklessly and maliciously claimed that I distributed $20,000 to each member of the committee to address the media where they stated their grouse against him. 

“I wish to state that I did not at any time meet or hand over any money of any sort to any member of the House Appropriation Committee. This accusation is not only a lie but pure fiction, a figment of his imagination which can only come from a man whose soul is deeply corrupted. 

“It is really shocking that this kind of despicable character could slip through the political process and become an honourable member of the House of Representatives, a highly respected institution where we all passed through. 

“This has confirmed that Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin is a serial blackmailer, a man with the basest of motives whose sanity has become questionable.”

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Reps Budget Padding Scandal: Document 'IMPLICATES' Gbajabiamila , Fear Grips Heads of MDAs

The scandalous 2016 budget padding rattling Nigeria's lower legislative chamber is assuming a messy dimension as the embattled axed appropriation chairman, Abdulmumin Jibrin refused to cease talking, opening more can of worms that are shocking Nigerians to the marrow.

Though, Jibrin had dubbed those he is fighting “the quartet,” leaving out a very important personality in the House, Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, but he unwittingly or maybe even coyly dragged Gba­jabiamila into the scandal as ac­cording to certain documents which were released by him, the Majority Leader too was listed among prin­cipal officers who were given more projects, Daily Sun reported.

In the handwritten docu­ment sighted according to Daily Sun, the House Leader is first on the list that includes the Minority Leader, the Majority Whip, Deputy Whip, Dep­uty Minority Leader, Minority Whip and Deputy Minority Whip. On the piece of paper, ministries were writ­ten beside the title, ‘Leader’ such as the ministries of Education, Envi­ronment and Solid Minerals. Then there were the agencies, the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the Boarder Community Agency. Though no project was listed, a sum total of N321 million was linked to these MDAs. What is quite unsettling for some lawmakers is the House Leader’s choice not to say anything. So far, Gbajabiamila has kept mum, he hasn’t tried to clarify his position or defend the House. Even with this, there are talks that meetings are be­ing held by lawmakers. Suffice to say that if lawmakers are to approach Gbajabiamila for anything, Jibrin might not just be part of such moves as he left the Loyalist Group which backed the House Leader to support Dogara to emerge Speaker. Ironical­ly, many believe that it was the fail­ure to extract a promise from Gbaja­biamila that he would be appointed Appropriations Committee chairman that led to Jibrin ditching the House Leader for the Speaker.

Meanwhile, the decision of the Federal Government to launch a full-scale investigation into alle­gations of budget padding by some members of the House of Representatives is already creating tension in some Fed­eral Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs. This has also led to panic among various heads of MDAs who might have connived with the lawmakers to pad their budget estimates.

One of the chief execu­tives who gave Saturday Sun an insight into what might be going on in the minds of his colleagues said “everyone is tensed and scared already be­cause I doubt if there is any ministry or agency where there is no adjustment by NASS in their budget estimates.” The source further said that “given that the culture of budget pad­ding in Nigeria is as old as the current democratic dispensa­tion, there has been a deep working relationship among the beaurocrats in the executive and legislative arms of govern­ment on the one hand and be­tween the beaurocrats and the lawmakers on the other hand. So, it is something that is deep and entrenched, and I doubt if any ministry or agency can es­cape a thorough and unbiased probe because if the head of an agency is not involved, his directors and other officials can work with their colleagues in NASS or the lawmakers them­selves to insert figures.”

A minister who also spoke with Saturday Sun on the de­velopment on the condition that he would not be quoted con­firmed that indeed, one of the chief executives of the agencies under his ministry may be one of those, preliminary investiga­tions have indicted. “I’m not going to speak on it because we warned them (Heads of Agen­cies) not to approach or con­nive with any lawmaker during the budget preparation but they seemed adamant”, the minister added.

A top official of one of the anti-graft agencies, which may be drafted in for further inves­tigation, and prosecution of lawmakers and other officials indicted in the ongoing probe told Saturday Sun that a num­ber of agencies had already been indicted in a covert in­vestigation already carried out. Some of the agencies are said to be those under the Ministries of Information and Culture, Agriculture, Health, Power, Works and Housing, as well as Transportation, among others.

Meanwhile, the probe panel set up by the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF Abuba­kar Malami, SAN, to probe how N481 billion was added to the budget has already begun work. Confirming that the probe team headed by an Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG, Malami said the Federal Government was doing that to stamp out corrupt tendencies in its budget process in order to achieve success, and to ensure that the masterminds were brought to book to serve as a deterrent to would-be corrupt officials in public office.

Malami said that the panel would determine the criminal roles played by those involved in the action and how much money was hidden and the agencies of government involved in the bud­get scam.

His words: “The Federal Gov­ernment is interested in fishing out and punishing those heads of parastatals who allowed them­selves to be used by influential persons in the executive and leg­islative arms of government by importing non-existing projects into successive budgets and al­legedly making away with large sums of money budgeted for them.

“You will recall that over time, there has been this criminal con­spiracy among some levels of government resulting in budget padding by many of the parastat­als and the money diverted and shared by some powerful indi­viduals to the detriment of major­ity of Nigerians, who have been denied vital services. The present administration has taken note of the painful antics of a few power­ful elements and we have decided to fish them out and punish them for others to see that corruption is not in the interest of anybody in Nigeria.”

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