Suspended lawmaker finally meets Buhari and he's super excited

On September 28, 2016, Speaker Yakubu Dogara sent Abdulmumin Jibrin—his close friend turned sworn enemy—packing from the House of Representatives.

It was the culmination of days of insult and invective hurling between both men over what Jibrin and the rest of the nation would come to refer to as ‘budget padding.’

Hon Jibrin, who was Chairman of the House Appropriations committee before he was sent fleeing from the green chamber, had accused Speaker Dogara and other principal officers of the House, of criminal insertions with respect to the annual budget.

As tempers flared, Jibrin would call Dogara a criminal, shameless thief and rogue.

Suspension

Dogara responded by making sure Jibrin was suspended from the legislature for 180 lawmaking days.

It’s been over 400 days now and Jibrin hasn’t been recalled to the House.

He’s travelled the world in that time, sought justice from his social media accounts, asked to meet with the president to tell his side of the story and screamed blue murder through every other channel he could latch onto.

But Dogara hasn’t looked his way.

ALSO READ: ‘Dogara, reps witch-hunting me,’ Lawmaker says

It has been Dogara who has been holding meetings with President Muhammadu Buhari over the sensitive subject that is ‘budget padding’--and everything in between--as Jibrin continued with licking his wounds.

The meeting

Until today when Jibrin showed up at the presidential villa for a meeting with President Buhari.

“As you are aware I have not seen the president for a while now. This was a meeting between a son and a father,” a giddy Jibrin told State House correspondents after the meeting.

Asked if the meeting had anything to do with his suspension by the speaker and his prolonged stay out of the lawmaking chamber, Jibrin took the evasive route.

ALSO READ: I will not apologise to anybody, Jibrin says

“Well, I cannot comment on that. The most important thing is that I saw the president and he is in very high spirits. I greeted him like a son and he spoke to me like a father.”

Jibrin decried that the people of Kiru/Bebeji constituency of Kano which he represents at the national assembly, have been denied representation on account of his suspension and refusal by Speaker Dogara to recall him.

Jibrin also said he'll continue to fight his suspension in court.

“It’s only normal for Nigerians to clamour for my recall”, he said. “Of course, Nigerians like justice, my constituency has been suspended for 16 months, so it is only normal that people will talk and ask questions. Why are we not back on the aspect of court case that has been lingering for the past 16 months? I think these are some of the reasons people are raising issues in the public glare.

“For every situation like this, there is always an opportunity to learn, it’s a learning curve, so, it’s fine.”