The All Progressives Congress (APC) has ruled out the possibility of sanctioning the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and the former Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmuminin Jibrin over allegations of budget padding.
The APC Deputy National Chairman (North), Senator Lawal Shuaibu, told journalists in Abuja that although the party constitution empowers the party to take certain steps on the matter, it will not play the role of a law enforcement agency.
He said, “Article 7 subsection 5 of APC Constitution gives us the power to do certain things. So, you see, what we are doing is the right thing. But only we don’t want that in the public gallery.”
While ruling out the possibility of imposing sanction on the feuding duo, Shuaibu added, “what is padding? The party does not sanction anybody on that. What is of concern to us is where any member contravenes the party constitution in his conduct.
“That is why I refer you to Article 7, subsection 5 of our party constitution. We are not a law enforcement organisation. We don’t enforce law. We only ensure that the constitution is complied with. All members of the party are answerable to the party and answerable to their constituency.
“The two members that are subjected to this are elected or appointed members of the party including those that are holding public office. So, you expect the party to sit down and watch. No. We have to do our work. So, the question of sweeping anything under the carpet does not arise at all. But we don’t want to do it in the market place, but at the party secretariat.”