The House of Representatives,
yesterday, threatened to invoke section 89 of the 1999 Constitution to arrest
some senior officials of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.
The officials include Senior
Adviser to the President on Prosecution, Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla, who doubles as
the Chairman of Special Presidential Investigation Panel, SPIP, on Public
Assets Recovery; Office of the Vice President; Minister of Justice and
Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; Minister of Finance, Kemi
Adeosun, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha.
Others are the Head of Service of
the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita; Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Ibrahim
Idris; Account-General of the Federation; Auditor General of the Federation and
all relevant stakeholders in the legal and financial administrations of the
country.
Others invited also are the
Budget Office of the Federation, Code of Conduct Bureau, National Human Rights
Commission and Nigerian Bar Association, NBA.
Reasons for the proposed arrest
were their failure to honour the invitation of the House Adhoc Committee
investigating the legality and modus operandi of the special presidential panel
to a public hearing, which commenced, yesterday, at the National Assembly
complex in Abuja.
It was observed that while the
chairman of the panel appeared by proxy in the person of the Head, Legal Unit,
Mr. Celcus Ukpong, most of the agencies sent either a director or deputy
director as representatives.
The development angered chairman
of the Adhoc Committee, Aliyu Pategi, and his members who lambasted the
officials for treating their invitations with levity and by extension,
disregarding the people of Nigeria who they represent.
Making his remarks, Pategi said
the hearing was not to witch-hunt anyone but to ascertain in line with best
practices, how and the panel got its monetary appropriations, since the panel
was not known to the Parliament.
According to him, the adhoc
committee was set up sequel to a motion considered by the House on March 2,
2018.
He said: “We must do things with
decorum in line with global practices. No expenditure can be carried except in
the manner described by the National Assembly. Our effort is not to witch hunt.
The public hearing is meant to gather information on the issue.
“We must get to all seizures and
locations to ensure that SPIP is operating under the constitution of the
federal Republican of Nigeria. A holistic oversight will be conducted.
“We checked our entire
appropriation act, and we have not seen anywhere money has been appropriated by
the Parliament from 2016.
“As a Parliament, we have been
complaining about the frosty relationship between the legislature and the
executive. We have always been accused of not passing the budget early but you
are not up and doing. I am telling you that all of you were late in your
submissions apart from Human Rights Commission.
“The chairman (Presidential
panel) is not here. We don’t take representation in parliament. Nobody is above
the law. You said that the chairman traveled, traveled to where? He is
responsible to the people. We are going to insist on probity, accountability as
well as legislative oversight.”
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