Former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has gone on exile, vowing never to return to Nigeria until his safety could be guaranteed.
The Suspended lawmaker made this known on Monday during an interview with a London-based television station. He had traveled to the UK to receive an award by the ‘African Voice’, a London based newspaper, as well as to take his anti-corruption campaign to international community.
Jibrin said that he decided to flee the country due to numerous threats on his life and those of his family members.
He added that that the prolonged silence of President Muhammadu Buhari over the corruption scandal in the House of Representatives was no longer healthy.
“The situation currently at hand is different from the initial stage of the crisis. The silence of the presidency is no longer sending the right message to Nigerians and the international community,” Jibrin said
He also disclosed that he had written the President seeking audience to brief him about the monumental fraud in the 2016 budget, as well as provide him with some vital information on how to check corruption in the House and further fraud in budget process and reform the House for the good of our country.
Jibrin stated that over 2,000 fraudulent projects worth over N284 billion were inserted into 2016 budget, a development he described as unprecedented in the Nation’s history.
He however exonerated himself of any wrongdoing in the appropriation process, maintaining that for the 5 years he had been a member of the House, he had never abused his office or corruptly enriched himself.
The Kano lawmaker reiterated his resolve to continue with the anti-corruption campaign, adding that he would now take the campaign to the international stage by reaching out to foreign governments, parliaments, media, civil society groups and Nigerians in Diaspora, to press for the arrest and prosecution of Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Lasun, Doguwa, Ogor and other members of the corrupt cabal in the House of Representatives.