There is palpable apprehension among senators that the budget padding crisis currently rocking the House of Representatives might spill over to the Senate.
A source close to the Appropriation Committee of the Senate said that fear had gripped some senators over the matter.
The source, however, revealed that those in the Appropriation Committee had resolved never to make any statements that would attract the attention of the public to the turbulent chamber.
According to the source, senators who were not happy with the handling of the 2016 budget by the Chairman of the Appropriation Committee, Danjuma Goje, have also agreed that they would not truncate the truce recently brokered in the Senate.
“What is happening in the House over budget padding is not different from what would have happened in the Senate, but experience, they say, is the best teacher. In fact, it would have been worse in the Senate, but for the lingering crisis that bedevilled the place since June last year.
“I don’t think that any senator wants to provoke another round of crisis for any reason because they are tired of being in the mess. From all I have seen, the senators want to be patriotic this time around. They want to cover whatever sins might have been committed during the 2016 appropriation exercise.
“Remember the last effort at stabilizing the chamber by its leadership, when Senate President Bukola Saraki had to reshuffle some committees to accommodate and pacify his tormentors. So, the anticipated padding controversy may not be seen in the Senate, but I can tell you that some senators are jittery because of the trouble in the House,” the source said.
When our correspondent tried to contact Goje for his comment, his line was not going through.
A source close to him said he was out of town. As if the lawmakers were deliberately avoiding journalists, other members of the committee did not pick their calls while a senator who answered said that he was not disposed to speaking with the press on any issue at the moment.
It will be recalled that the Senate allegedly had a stormy executive session on April 21, when many senators protested against the leadership of the Appropriation Committee because of the manner it purportedly handled the budget with so much secrecy.
It was learnt that Goje came under intense attack from the members of the committee during the closed session, for allegedly excluding them from the budget approval process.
It was further learnt that the aggrieved lawmakers called for Goje’s removal, but later resolved to allow him remain in office since the Senate had, as at that time, embarked on reconciliatory moves to resolve all grievances in the Chamber by setting up an ad hoc committee to reconcile all warring factions.
Meanwhile, there are strong indications that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) may have assembled a team of detectives, to examine a petition arising from the budget-padding crisis rocking the House of Representatives.
It was gathered from highly placed sources that once the petition is found to have merit, the commission may then commence investigation into the allegations contained therein.
A former Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin has, since his removal, sustained his allegations of diversion of billions of naira against Speaker Yakubu Dogara, his deputy, Yusuff Lasun; majority whip, Alhassan Doguwa and minority leader, Leo Ogor.
read more here https://www.today.ng/news/national/161103/fear-grips-senators-budget-padding-scandal
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