Indications have emerged that the Nigerian Police has launched an inquiry into the Budget padding allegation which has plagued the House of Representatives in the past days.
Recall that the allegation was levelled against key members of the house including the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara by the former House Committee Chairman on Appropriation, Adbdulmumin Jibrin.
According to reports, the Police leadership has on Monday ordered operatives to begin a fresh probe into the allegation by Jibrin in which he claimed the Speaker colluded with his deputy, Yusuf Lasun, the Chief Whip, Alhassan Doguwa, and the Minority Whip, Leo Ogor to pad the 2016 National Assembly budget with as much as N40 billion.
Recall that Jibrin made the revelation following his sack by the House leadership last week. Jibrin however claimed the sack came as a result of his objection to the House Speaker, Dogara’s wish that he [Jibrin] should allocate projects worth N40bn to him in the 2016 budget.
According to Punch, a source said, “The allegations made by the former House committee chairman on appropriations are weighty and cannot be ignored or swept under the carpet because it borders on corruption and an attempt to defraud the nation.
“So, the police have set in motion machinery to investigate the allegations, ascertain the veracity of the allegations, and get to the bottom of the corruption as stated by the petitioner.”
Responding to the probe claim, the Force’s Public Relations Officer, Donald Awunah maintained that he had not been briefed of the development, if any.
He said: “I am not aware of the petition or the investigation into it and I have not been briefed about it either. The fact is that when someone writes a petition, it goes to the Force Criminal Investigation Department where it would be investigated, but I have not been briefed about it, but I will find out and let you know”.