​Somalia: Federal Minister skips Parliament hearing, lawmakers plan to unseat him

MOGADISHU, Somalia- Federal Minister of Constitutional Affairs, Abdirahman Hosh Jibril, has requested to postpone his statement before the Parliament on Sunday, citing medical reasons, Garowe Online reports.

In a letter sent to the Federal Parliament, Minister Jibril asked the Parliament to delay the hearing session till 11 August. However, several lawmakers refused the request and asked the Parliament leadership to table a motion to review his performance as Minister of Constitutional Affairs.

Following a debate on the matter, the Parliament carried out a voting for the motion, as 88 MPs voted in favor of the motion, whereas 77 MPs voted against it and requested to give more time for the Federal Minister.

Subsequently, The Federal Parliament announced to debate the motion in the House against the Federal Minister following the voting results.

Minister Jibirl who is an ally to the Speaker of the Parliament, Mohamed Osman Jawari, has recently paid a visit to several Federal states in the country focused on the review process of the Provisional Federal Constitution.

The move was reported to cause stir within both Houses of the Federal Parliament, which responsible for the review process of the Constitution.

He was accused of overreaching his mandate and interfering in the tasks of the parliamentary and independent committees that are responsible of the constitutional review process.

Close sources revealed that Minister Jibirl initiated the process to acquire funds from Somalia’s international partners. Recently, Minister Jibirl and Parliament Speaker Jawari have both visited Norway, which is considered among international Donors supporting Somalia.

It’s noteworthy that top Somali government officials including Parliament Speaker and Prime Minister Hasan Ali Khayre have Norwegian citizenship.

Pundits said Norway are deeply involved in the political affairs in the horn of Africa, particularly in Somalia, as oil companies based in Norway, are attempting to win licenses to explore oil and minerals off the coast of Somalia, and blamed to be behind the territorial water dispute between Somalia and Kenya.

GAROWEONLINE