Senator Bukola Saraki, the Senate President chats with Senator Shehu Sani of Kaduna State
President Muhammadu Buhari has rejected
the recommendation of the senate for the sack of Babachir Lawal as
secretary to the government of the federation, SGF.
Buhari said his decision was informed by
the failure of the senate ad hoc committee on humanitarian crisis in
the northeast to give Lawal a fair hearing.
He conveyed his decision in a letter read by Senate President Bukola Saraki on Tuesday, January 24, 2017.
In December 2016, the senate recommended the sack of Lawal for alleged corruption.
In its report, the senate ad hoc
committee, which investigated the diversion of funds for internally
displaced persons in the northeast, and was chaired by Shehu Sani, a
senator from Kaduna central, accused Lawal of receiving a kickback of
N200m through his company, Rholavision Limited, from a company he
awarded a contract for the clearing of invasive plant species in Yobe
state.
But Buhari dismissed the document as a
“minority report”, saying that “the senate committee comprised nine
members” but only three persons signed it.
“The review of the interim report showed
that only three members signed the report. This makes it a minority
report of a senate committee,” he said.
He said Lawal was not given the
opportunity to clear himself of the allegations, and that the company
linked to him was not accorded the chance as well.
“The current report does not meet the
principle of fair hearing required in cases of abuse of office by
public officer,” he said.
Senate Committee Chairman Says Buhari Lied
Reacting to the letter, Sani, chairman of the committee, described the current anti-corruption war of the president as a farce.
“This letter is a funeral service of the president’s anti-corruption war,” he said.
“When it comes to fighting corruption in
the national assembly and the judiciary, the president uses
insecticide, but when it comes to the presidency he uses deodorant.”
He also explained that the SGF was invited personally and through the media, but that he chose to ignore the invitation.
He added that seven of nine members of
the committee signed the interim report, and that Buhari’s letter
absolving Lawal of guilt was full of lies.
Senator @shehusani raises a point of order and says everything in that letter is a lie.— Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) January 24, 2017
"Corruption in the Judiciary & others is treated with Insecticide while corruption in the govt is treated with deodorant" - Sen. @shehusani— Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) January 24, 2017
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