Budget Padding: Why Gbajabiamila Submits Self To Police For Investigation

Femi-Gbajabiamila

The Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, said on Friday that he had submitted himself to the police authorities in Abuja to investigate any role he was alleged to have played in ‘padding’ the 2016 budget.

Gbajabiamila explained that he took the decision because there had been insinuations that though his name was not mentioned by the former Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin, in his budget-padding allegations against four principal officers, he (Gbajabiamila) could not have been exonerated.

He also said going to the police was important to him against the backdrop of reports that he was among those sponsoring Jibrin.

Gbajabiamila, who confirmed that the decision to sack Jibrin was collectively taken by the leadership of the House, also admitted that he attended a principal officers’ meeting on Thursday, where all the officers signed a joint statement to disown Jibrin. However, he said he gave a condition before signing the statement that he would want his alleged role in the budget padding to be investigated.