Since July 21st, Abdulmumin Jibrin has taken on the leadership of the House of Representatives single-handedly by exposing their abuse of budget process. His allegations are serious. Jibrin accuses the House leadership of budget padding: altering the budget after it had been passed by their colleagues and prior to submitting it to the President, without the knowledge of their fellow lawmakers.

He has gone much further than mere allegations, taking steps to authenticate them to the EFCC and ICPC. Whatever his true motives, this is the only way Nigerians could have known the internal workings of the legislature, a place that is closer to a secret cult when it comes to spending public funds.

As former Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Jibrin would know where the skeletons are, and the information he has made public so far should add further fuel to calls for the National Assembly to be much more transparent.

An OpenNASS is long overdue, and so is the resignation of the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara.

The severity of the allegations means that the House of Representative will come back from recess in two weeks with a Speaker and a leadership who lack the moral authority to continue in office.

The defences offered by the Speaker so far have been unconvincing. Saying that budget padding is not a crime and invoking his immunity from prosecution, rings hollow. To truly lead people, you need more than just the law. There has to be faith in your leadership.

The budget is the second most important document in a country, and for a handful of people to move figures around without recourse to their colleagues, simply by virtue of their position, is a gross abuse of power at the very least.

In a statement earlier this month, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) makes the case for Dogara’s resignation very clear:

Budget padding in fact is corruption, as it is implicit in corruption offences such as abuse of office, attempt to embezzle, divert, and misappropriate public funds, conspiracy to act corruptly, and illicit enrichment, which are recognized under the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party, and included in national legislation such as the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Establishment Act and the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

The allegations against Mr Dogara and other principal officials of the House of Representatives also suggest a subversion of the budget process, which in itself is a crime but also a fundamental breach of constitutional provisions and an affront to internationally recognized human rights.

A prima-facie case of corruption is established when elected officials are allegedly influenced to act contrary to their obligations of office by the prospect of financial gain to themselves. Budget padding also amounts to corruption as the action is against the public interest. Any appearance of corruption in the budget process can result in a cynical public to losing interest in political participation altogether. And democracy can’t work unless Nigerians have faith in those who govern.

If Mr Dogara refuses to resign to allow for effective and transparent investigation and the allegations of budget padding are swept under the carpet, the ability of the House of Representatives to function as a watchdog and credible guardian of the public interest would be seriously compromised.

The National Assembly already draws so much from the public purse without accountability, and Jibrin’s allegations suggest that its leadership is actively shortchanging Nigerians. Getting to the bottom of all he has said is urgent, and this cannot happen while Dogara is Speaker.

For the good of the country, Yakubu Dogara should resign.