Probe Into Alleged Budget Padding Begins;12 Things To Know

Ho. Abdulmumin Jibrin has petitioned the police as well as the EFCC after alleging that the 2016 Budget was padded. He alleged that the padding was carried out by the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Speaker Yusuff Lasun, Chief Whip Alhassan Ado Doguwa, Minority Leader Leo Ogor and nine others. also gave the police  three versions of the budget yesterday and they (police) have begun probe into the budget

He also gave the police  three versions of the budget and they (police) have begun probe into the allegations.

1. The Special Investigation Panel (SIP) has started looking through documents to isolate the padded areas.
2. Jibrin claimed that they inserted about 2000 projects worth N284 billion into the budget and had a two-hour session with the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Amodu Ali-led SIP.
3. Jibrin, who submitted more documents on the matter to the investigators, is scheduled to appear before the panel again either today or tomorrow.
4. These versions are the original copy laid before the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari, the version passed by the National Assembly but rejected by the President due to the omission of some key projects, such as the N60billion Calabar-Lagos rail project; and the harmonised copy.
5. With the retrieval of these budget versions, detectives have started identifying padded areas by the House members.
6. After locating these padded areas, the SIP will be able to determine the focus of interrogation and the list of those to be questioned alongside the 13 already implicated by Jibrin.”
7. For the session with the SIP yesterday, Jibrin arrived at about noon and left around 2pm.
8. Jibrin brought additional documents to support his allegations.
9. What he did was to support every allegation with proof and the sources where he got all the documents.
10. He is trying to prove his case that the padding was criminal.
11. Yakubu Dogara and the other accused persons would be invited after  Jibrin.
12. The SIP promised to be fair to all and to also carry the public along.