Suspended former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has gone on exile.
He has vowed never to return to Nigeria unless his safety can be guaranteed.
The embattled lawmaker who left Nigeria for London last week to receive award and take his anti-corruption campaign to international community, made his decision public in an interview aired on the London based Ben TV, on Monday.
Jibrin explained that his decision to flee the country was based on threats he has continued to receive from some of his colleagues whom he accused of budget fraud.
The lawmaker also said the initial silence of the President on the matter was a blessing in disguise because if the President had spoken much earlier he would have been accused of using him to fight the House Leadership, saying the time is now ripe and the crisis mature enough for the President to break his silence.
Jibrin said, “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.”
He also revealed that he recently wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari, seeking audience to brief him about monumental fraud in the 2016 budget, individual and systemic corruption in the House and 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.
According to him, over 2,000 fraudulent projects worth over N284 billion were inserted into 2016 budget, saying such fraud never happened in the history of the Nigerian legislature.
He also exonerated himself of any wrongdoing in the appropriation process, saying he has been in the House for 5 years and has never abused his office or corruptly enrich himself.
While reiterating his resolve to continue with the anti corruption campaign, he revealed that he would now take the campaign to 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.
When contacted, the Special Adviser to the Speaker, Mr. Turaki Hassan said, he would “not dignify the suspended lawmaker with a response.”
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