The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday grilled the former chairman of the House committee on Appropriations, Abdulmumin Jibrin over his budget padding allegations.

Jibrin had accused Speaker Dogara, the Deputy Speaker, Yusuff Lasun; the Chief Whip, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa; the Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, and nine others of alleged involvement in the padding of the 2016 national budget.

Jibrin who was quizzed for over five hours explained to investigators how the 2016 budget was allegedly padded by those he accused.

An EFCC operative, who confirmed Jibrin’s visit, said, “Jibrin came to our office to honour an invitation. His petition was voluminous and we needed clarification. He submitted more documents before leaving. We told him that we could call him again at any time.

“Based on the allegations and documents he submitted, we will invite other lawmakers, especially Dogara, and members of the appropriations committee.”

Jibrin is yet to back down from his allegations, saying he stands by his demand for their probe.

The statement read in part, “…Now that I have exposed the fact that Speaker Dogara and the three others have padded the budget, padding is no longer an offence. Shame!

“There is massive individual and institutional corruption in the House of Representatives. All Nigerians have a responsibility to avail themselves of this rare opportunity to flush out corruption in the House.’’

The EFCC had already started conducting investigations on the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

Azeez