Leadership / Nigeria: Gowon made this comment at Ile-Ife, Osun State, at a programme, Health Caravan and award ceremony for the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, who was conferred with the Royal Ambassador for Hepatitis Advocacy in Nigeria by the Seham Health Care Foundation as part of activities to commemorate the 2016 World Hepatitis Day.
He expressed surprise at the controversial budget padding involving the National Assembly and wondered why this kind of financial misconduct had become the order of the day in Nigeria, adding that such never occurred during his administration.
Gowon, however, urged government not to allow anyone found guilty of the budget padding allegation to go scot-free to serve as a deterrent to others.
“If that is true, if anybody is doing that, the person should be checked and stopped to ensure that such does not occur in the future.
“We didn’t it do it during my time. We had Chief Obafemi Awolowo in charge of our finance during my time and he taught us to survive without borrowing. Such (budget padding) should stop; there is no point doing that,” he said, while responding specifically to the ongoing fight over allegations of budget padding by principal officers of the House of Representatives.
Fielding questions from newsmen after the award ceremony, the elder statesman advised President Buhari to ensure that the country’s economy bounces back in order to alleviate the suffering of the masses.
Gowon urged Nigerians to cooperate with the government, saying that the present administration was doing everything within its power to resolve the economic challenges facing the nation.
“Let the current authorities find a way out of the current economic crisis. The minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun, has been telling us what they have been doing to get the economy strong again. She said all will be well by September. Let’s wait till then.
“I have left government for a long time, so I may not really know what the problem is. The current administration should do whatever it can to solve to economic challenges. They should find a way to restore confidence in the citizens and the nation in general by fixing the economy,” the former head of state stated.
Receiving the award, the Ooni urged Nigerians to ensure that they support the less privileged in their domains. He also called on Nigerians to cultivate the habit of celebrating good leaders.
On her part, the executive secretary of Seham, Princess Adepeju Hameed, explained that since the formation of the foundation, the rate of hepatitis had reduced in Nigeria.
She noted that the Ooni was given the award to help the group deepen the awareness about the disease and its control.
Meanwhile, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has issued the former chairman, House Committee on Appropriations, Abdulmumin Jibrin, a seven-day ultimatum to retract all allegations made against him and tender an unreserved apology or face legal action.
A statement issued by the special adviser on media and public affairs to the Speaker, Mr Turaki Hassan, revealed that the ultimatum was contained in a letter written to Jibrin by counsel to Dogara, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) & Co.
However, Jibrin has declared that he had officially approached the anti-graft agencies, the EFCC and the ICPC, to allot a date for him to submit his petition against Speaker Dogara; his deputy, Yussuf Lasun; chief whip of the House, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, and the minority leader, Leo Ogor.
Reacting to the letter from Dogara’s lawyer, the embattled lawmaker took to his Twitter handle where he wrote that Dogara’s latest demand did not come as a surprise as he knew that the Speaker would approach the court in order to prevent the House from looking into the allegations.
“Speaker Dogara has threatened legal action on me. Quite predictable! I know he will rush to court in order to invoke the House’s rules that matters in court cannot be heard on the floor.
“He failed to realise that the law is not intended to protect corrupt people. It is such a shame. I have responded to their allegations; rather than respond to mine, he is rushing to court. I stand by my allegations; I will not withdraw them,” he insisted.
Jibrin added: “I am happy to announce that my lawyers have officially approached the EFCC and the ICPC towards working out a date for me to personally submit my petition against Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Speaker Yussuf Lasun, Chief Whip Alhassan Doguwa and Minority Leader Leo Ogor.
“I believe once a date is agreed with the anti-corruption agencies, we would have begun the process of making these characters pay for abusing their office.”
Reps ‘Transparency Group’ calls for external investigation
A group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives called the “Transparency Group” has demanded that the EFCC investigate Dogara, Lasun and some other principal officers of the House over alleged padding of the 2016 budget.
The lawmakers at a press briefing in Abuja yesterday, insisted that the accused members as well as the former chairman of appropriations committee, be investigated by relevant anti-graft agencies.
Jibrin had only last week, alleged that the Dogara, Lasun, Doguwa and Ogor padded the 2016 budget with N284 billion using 10 of the 96 Standing Committees in the House.
But responding to the heinous allegations, chairman of the House Committee on media, Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas on Tuesday said that Jibrin was relieved of his position as chairman of appropriations alleging that he padded the budget with N250 billion adding that he abused his office by regularly blackmailing heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for “pecuniary” reasons.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Hon Musa Soba claimed that about 113 signatures had been collected from lawmakers from the six geopolitical zones and across party lines before Sallah break to compel the speaker to explain noticed discrepancies in the budget.
“We call for an external investigation into the matter, to enable us know if our principal officers are guilty or not.
“For this group, we say the budget was padded and as such, the budget being a document that belongs to all Nigerians, it is no longer an internal affair,” he stated.
Sabo called on the speaker to desist from making Jibrin’s allegations look like a problem of the House, adding that going forward, the speaker, the deputy speaker, the majority whip and the minority leader should confront the allegations made against them as individuals.
“We urge the leadership of the House of Representatives to stop presenting the 2016 budget padding allegations as the problem of the entire house.
“Let those at the centre of the controversy answer to all the allegations made against them individually and collectively in line with legal practice and our criminal justice system,” Soba added.
