Contrary to insinuations that a member of the House of Representatives, Honourable Abdulmumin Jubrin may have been left in the lurch since he was not appointed a Chairman or member of any of the standing committees of the House of Representatives, Politicos.ng can authoritatively report that he is angling to become the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom).
PenCom currently has an acting Director-General. She is Hajia Aisha Dahir-Umar. She has been functioning in acting capacity since she was appointed in April 2017.
Many had expressed concern at the non-inclusion of Jubrin in any of the standing committees of the House of Representatives so much that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, had to address the media and general public on it.
Writing on his verified Twitter (@femigbaja) on Friday, the 26th of July, 2019, Gbajabiamila said, “Yesterday, we appointed the leadership of Standing Committees of @HouseNGR.It is usually a very challenging task selecting leaders among equals. But we did our best in record time as this is one of the earliest such appointments have been made since 1999.
“@HouseNGR is now fully ready to perform its legislative duty. Let me clarify that @AbdulAbmJ was not excluded from the leadership composition. He was involved in the composition process and declined accepting any committee leadership.
“@AbdulAbmJ had, repeatedly, made clear his intention to leave @HouseNGR. My persuasions and that of some other leaders convinced him, reluctantly, to stay a bit longer.
“@AbdulAbmJ wants a fresh challenge and his preference will be to return to the university and pursue his professorial ambition, face his private business or serve in the executive arm of public service.
“I have no doubt, whatever he decides, he will be of immense value. He has had a meritorious career in @HouseNGR over the last decade.”
Politicos.ng can reveal that the “executive arm of public service” that Speaker referred to in his post is the position of Director-General of National Pension Commission (PenCom).
Confirming the development, a highly-placed source, who is privy to the undercurrents, said, “He is eyeing executive position as DG, PenCom”.
When asked if being a member of the House of Representatives and/or Chairman of a Committee was not better than being a Director-General, the source said, “It is far, far better for Jubrin to be the DG of PenCom than membership or Chairmanship of any of the House Committees”.
Asked what that meant, he said the DG of PenCom is an executive position with more patronage.
Investigations by Politicos.ng showed that the nation’s pension fund assets stood at N8.63 trillion as at December, 2018.
Jubrin, who represents Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency of Kano State at the National Assembly, is a third-term member of the House of Representatives.
On Wednesday, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bebeji Local Government Area of Kano State announced his suspension from the party over alleged anti-party activities.
This is not the first time that the lawmaker would be suspended in his political career.
It would be recalled that on the 28th of September, 2016, the 8th House of Representatives suspended Jubrin for 180 legislative days over his role in the budget-padding saga, which pitched the legislature against the executive arm of government.
In March 2015, he aspired to be the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Jubrin, however, stepped down, supported and co-sponsored Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara to emerge as the Speaker of the 8th Assembly.
Dogara appointed him as Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, a position he held from 2015 until 2016 when he resigned over the budget-padding saga.
In the build up to the inauguration of the 9th National Assembly, Jubrin served as the Director-General of the Femi Gbajabiamila for Speaker Campaign Organisation.
On the 11th of June, 2019, he saw to the election of Gbajabiamila as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, defeating his opponent, Mohammed Umar Bago, with 283 votes.
Jubrin was first elected into the House of Representatives on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2011 before defecting to the APC in 2014. He was elected again in 2015 and 2019 respectively.
