Read his letter below...
“I write this letter to you as a last
resort to seek action on the allegations of budget fraud, abuse of
office and corruption I levelled against Speaker Yakubu Dogara and three
other Principal Officers of the House of Representatives,” Mr. Jibrin
said.
The letter came a few days after he said
he’d gone on exile partly because of the president’s reluctance to
intervene in the scandal which has been rocking the National Assembly
for four months.
“The silence of the presidency is no
longer sending the right message to Nigerians and the international
community,” Mr. Jibrin said in a statement on November 7.
In his letter on Friday, Mr. Jibrin, who
was suspended on September 28 over his face off with lawmakers,
informed the president about alleged sharp practices of House members
and called on him to act.
“Your Excellency, the House of
Representatives stinks of corruption and something urgent must be done
to salvage the situation,” Mr. Jibrin said. “We have a golden
opportunity to show the world that there is zero tolerance for
corruption under your leadership.”
Mr. Jibrin said the president should
order prioritised investigation into the padding claims with a focus on
bringing culpable members to justice.
“I pray that you direct the various
agencies that I submitted petitions to expedite action on the matter as
Nigerians and the world are watching to see how we will deal with this
issue of incontrovertible corruption by Speaker Dogara and others and
systemic corruption in the House,” Mr. Jibrin said.
Mr. Dogara’s spokesman, Turaki Hassan,
declined comments on Friday night. But his principal has repeatedly
denied all the allegations of budget padding against him.
The demands for Mr. Buhari’s
intervention stand in sharp contrast from Mr. Jibrin’s October 1
statement in which he described the president’s silence as “a blessing
in disguise.”
“If Mr. President had jumped into the
matter at the early stage, trust Nigerians, they would have concluded
that the presidency is using me to fight the House,” Mr. Jibrin said in
his Independence Day statement. ”Such perception and blackmail would
have been difficult to deal with.”
The lawmaker went on exile last week,
sparking speculation that he fled the country to avoid a pending charges
against him by the authorities.
But he denied fleeing from prosecution,
said he travelled because his safety was not guaranteed in Nigeria and
he’ll return to the country when invited to testify in the budget fraud
investigation.
“I will be available once my attention
is required in respect of my petition against the Speaker and others or
any petition that may come against me,” he said.
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