The
Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, Hon
Uzoma Nkem Abonta has raised the alarm over the deliberate refusal of
the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
EFCC, Ibrahim Magu and other agencies of government to obey House
summons over pending petitions against them and vowed that the House
would apply the mechanism of the law to bring them before the Committees
henceforth.
Hon Abonta who raise the alarm in Abuja at the weekend while
speaking with Newsmen other agencies fingered that have flagrantly
disobeyed the House to include: the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation, NNPC, Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR and Petroleum
Prices Product Regulatory Agency, PPPRA.
According to him, “honestly we are not having any issues or witch
hunting neither are we trying to prosecute or frustrate the operations
of the EFCC, in fact, we want to do everything to encourage them to
continue the war against corruption.
“What we are trying to do is to call them, cause there are
petitions before the House and referred to the committee on public
petitions to make fact findings but severally we have invited the EFCC
to come and tell us their own side of the story
“We have sent them more than seven invitations on various issues
but they have deliberately failed to turn up for such invitation
“We have acknowledgment copies of all our letters and summons to
them to come and give us their own side of the story so we can draw a
line and advice the House accordingly
“The non-appearance of the EFCC is inhibiting our investigation in
the allegations of high handedness and harassment, we can’t stop them
from doing their work but we must ensure that in doing their work, they
comply with the rules of engagement and laid down procedures”.
Speaking on other agencies that were involved, Abonta said “those
deeply involved are the NNPC, PPPRA and DPR and this attitude has led to
many inconclusive investigative hearings.
According to him, “and their non-appearance has made the House
resolve to seek other lawful means to bring them before the public
petitions committee because nobody is above the law, not even the
Parliament and a creation of parliament cannot also be above the law.
He pointed out that most problem the committee has been faced with
was that apart from the EFCC, most agencies like the NNPC, DPR accused
of corrupt practices have deliberately refused to answer to the summons
issued to them to give their own side of the story.
“We are bothered and worried, but we are not surprised at the
leaked letter of the minister of state for petroleum resources to the
president on the NNPC boss, some of these things are subjects of
petitions which the NNPC have refused to come to answer to
“Their absences inhibit our work, it delays our work and makes it
inconclusive, otherwise we will have to conclude with that of the
petitions alone and that is not good as it is against natural justice,
so that is why we will use the mechanism of the law to bring them” he
stated.
Recall
that the EFCC just last week refused to appear before the committee to
explain the role it played when security operatives invaded property of
the former First Lady Dame Patience Johnathan.
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