There are strong indications that the Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, has thrown his weight behind the embattled Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, against his accuser, a former Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin.

It was gathered on Monday that the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Mr. Abdulrahman Kawu-Sumaila, was also supporting Dogara.

The moves by the governor and the President’s aide were said to have deepened the budget padding crisis in the House.

It was gathered that Tambuwal had been mobilising some members of the House from the North-West to support the Speaker.

A member of the House said, “It is an open secret that the Speaker is Tambuwal’s man. The Sokoto State governor was instrumental in the emergence of Dogara as the Speaker in 2015. He has not abandoned the man. He is mobilising members of the House for Dogara.”

It was learnt that although the Sokoto State governor had succeeded in convincing the North-West members of the House to support Dogara, the South-West members had, however, declined to support the Speaker.

Findings showed that members from the South-West had not forgotten the role Tambuwal played in the emergence of Dogara as the Speaker in June 2015, dumping Femi Gbajabiamila, the preferred candidate of the All Progressives Congress.

It was learnt that the budget crisis would have been resolved if the South-West members had signed the list of those who were ready to pass vote of confidence in Dogara.

It was gathered that most members from the zone, however, decided to be neutral by supporting neither Dogara nor Jubrin.

A chieftain of the party, also said, “You will recall that the South-West members of the party were instrumental in the emergence of Tambuwal as the Speaker in 2011. In 2015, when it was the time to show gratitude, he abandoned the zone.”

Investigations also showed that the relationship between Jibrin and Kawu-Sumaila had been frosty since the budget padding crisis started.

It was learnt that Jibrin, who accused Dogara of padding the budget, was not happy with Kawu-Sumaila because he thought that the presidential aide prevented him from meeting President Muhammadu Buhari.

The former appropriation committee chairman had in a statement on Sunday alleged that two governors and three former members of the House were blocking him from meeting the President.

A source said, “Jibrin feels that Kawu-Sumaila has been tactically supporting Dogara.”

Kawu-Sumaila, an All Progressives Congress ex-lawmaker from Kano State like Jibrin, had previously served as the Deputy Minority Leader of the House before becoming the SSA to Buhari.

Jibrin did not name the governors, but sources close to him were said to have named Kawu-Sumaila as one of the three former Reps.

“The point is that you could see Kawu-Sumaila with Dogara in the video as the Speaker addressed State House correspondents soon after he emerged from the meeting with the President,” one of close aides of Jibrin alleged.

Efforts to get the spokesman for Tambuwal, Imam Imam, to comment did not succeed, as his mobile phone rang out. He had yet to respond to a text message sent to his phone as of press time.

The Speaker’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Turaki Hassan, declined comment.



The Presidency on Monday deplored what it said were attempts by Jibrin to drag the President into the budget padding allegations.

It said Jibrin, as a lawmaker, should know the “protocol” on how to see Buhari, as against his recent insinuations that he had been blocked from seeing the President.

Kawu-Sumaila reacted amid insinuations that he was one of the “three former” members of the House of Representatives accused by Jibrin on Sunday to have “blocked” his efforts to see Buhari to state his own version of the budget scandal just like the Speaker did.

The SSA said there had “never” been a time Jibrin requested through his office to see Buhari that he was denied access.

He said, “The way he has been going about this issue is unfortunate. He is dragging the names of innocent people into it.

“He has not approached me that he wants to see the President. If he makes a request, I will facilitate it for him. He knows the protocol.”

Kawu-Sumaila said his role in Dogara’s meeting with Buhari was to act as a facilitator.

He said he neither participated in the meeting nor knew the outcome.

The SSA added, “When the Speaker wanted to see Mr. President, he told me.

“I did my part to facilitate it. I was waiting at the office while they met. I was not at the meeting with them.

“It was after the meeting ended and the Speaker came out that I saw him off.

“The same thing would have happened if Jibrin requested to see the President.”

Meanwhile, the meeting of the Transparency Group, which was believed to be behind Jibrin, scheduled for Monday to review their strategies, had yet to take place as of 6pm on Monday.