From Romanus Ugwu, Kemi Yesufu, Magnus Eze, Abuja

Angered by his refusal to abide by the directive issued to him on the raging crisis in the House of Representatives, the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has written the immediate past Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumuni Jibrin, to stop further media attack on Speaker Yakubu Dogara.
In a letter signed by the Deputy National Chairman (North), Senator Lawal Shuaibu, yesterday, the party ordered Jibrin to stop issuing public statement on the matter.
The release reads in part: “Arising from the series of meetings we held with you over the subject matter, the National Working Committee (NWC) had decided to request you to henceforth avoid issuing public statement on this matter.
“These, however, include statements through the social media or other means of transmitting an opinion on the matter to the public, as the party is now looking into it towards finding possible solution.”
However, the Acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Comrade Timi Frank, opined that the matter had gone beyond the party.
“I expected that after summoning Jibrin to the party secretariat, he would have restrained himself but reading the dailies today, the man is still speaking and insisting that the Speaker must resign. This has shown that he cannot listen to the party anymore because the battle has gone dirty.”
Also, a group of former members of the House of Representatives has called for a quick resolution of the crisis.
The ex-lawmakers under the umbrella of The Initiatives Group said the controversy over the padding of the 2016 budget had badly damaged the reputation of the Legislature.
Chairman of group, Eseme Eyiboh, stated that the allegations was uncalled for as the 1999 Constitution clearly states that the National Assembly has the power of appropriation.
Eyiboh at media briefing stressed the need to protect the House as an institution.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned against using the current controversy to settle political scores. It described the messy revelations as incontrovertible evidence of the inherent weaknesses in the budgeting process that called for a thorough review.
The NLC President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, who stated this in a statement in Abuja challenged the government to do a soul-searching of itself rather than focusing on individuals allegedly involved in the controversy, saying that the budget failed to address the needs of the people.
“A strong National Assembly is a necessity for a vibrant democracy.  We urge Nigerians to be slow to anger in matters of this nature even as they have little or no reason to be too trusting of any political office holder, so that in the end, they do not end up victims of other peoples’ wars,” Wabba stated.