The budget padding controversy rocking the House of Representatives continued unabated on Tuesday as Chairman of the Committee on Healthcare Services, Chike Okafor has denied allegation by ex-chair of the Appropriation Committee, Abdulmumuni Jibrin, that he padded the 2016 budget.

This is as Jibrin on Tuesday unleashed a fresh tirade against Speaker Yakubu Dogara and other principal officers of the House, saying he has furnished anti-corruption agencies with facts of his budget padding claims and is ready to testify as witness during prosecution.

In a statement released Tuesday, Okafor, challenged Jibrin and “anyone who stands with him in this voyage to infamy, to scrutinize the health budget and check under my constituency Ehime Mbano/Ihitte Uboma/Obowo Federal constituency if there is any extraneous project added to my constituency and of course I make bold to say the same for the two other committee chairmen oversighting the Health Ministry,” adding: “It was within our purview to propose projects for our constituencies but we didn’t have to because we fully appreciate the prevailing realities and peculiarities of the health ministry.”

The Imo State Rep said “if there was any insertion in the health budget, it would have been done at the appropriation stage like the N500 Million hospital project that was unilaterally inserted by Jibrin during appropriation.”

According to Okafor, “it is no longer news that Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin was removed from the appropriation committee for fraud-related issues. The public had expected a sane and sobering reaction and not this misadventure of a drowning man trying so desperately to tear down everything in his path to ‘self-preservation’.

“Jibrin should be told that attempting to scandalize honourable members with baseless and sensationalized allegations, cannot repudiate his misdeeds. And like a famed Nigerian poet would say to him, “Nakedness won’t offer you clothes.”

“My first impulse was to ignore the blabbing which was fast becoming the hallmark of Jibrin, but on a re-think, letting the lies fly without calling it by name may expose some gullible audience to the risk of choking on the mendacious gibberish that has become Jibrin’s biggest capital in recent times.

“Much as we desire as representatives of a people to bring some developmental projects to our constituency, the Ministry of health budget is unique in its way and not exactly the place for the kind of fiscal manoeuvring Jibrin is used to.”

Jibrin in his statement Tuesday targeted at Dogara insisted that “there is massive individual and institutional corruption in the House of Representatives. And all Nigerians have a responsibility to avail themselves of this rare opportunity to flush out corruption in the House.

“I have pledged my continuous support and assistance to the security and anti-corruption agencies. Let me also state that contrary to some myopic opinion that it would affect the institution of the House, it will rather free the institution of the grip of these corrupt vested interests, restore its integrity and shape it to become a pride to Nigerians home and abroad.

“While Speaker Dogara and the other 12 corrupt members are running from pillar to post trying to re-define padding, avoid the anti-corruption agencies, looking for cover or soft landing, I have held several meetings with the agencies, provided useful documents and vital information. They obviously have so much to hide, so much to fear. I have repeatedly urged Speaker Dogara and his gang of 12 corrupt members to feel free and forward any allegations they have against me to the anti-corruption agencies.”

-ORDERPAPER.NG