Former speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dimeji Bankole may have stirred the hornet’s nest with his alleged purchase of his official residence for N45m and his reported deal to rent it to his successor, Hon Aminu Tambuwal, for N40m. The House is raising serious questions over the purported deal.
LEADERSHIP gathered last night that the House had concluded plans to retrieve the official residence from Bankole on the grounds that the alleged arrangement was not only illegal but a slap on the integrity of the 7th Assembly.
According to a ranking member of the lower house who sought anonymity, the House will definitely move against Bankole and take necessary action over the official residence.
Tambuwal, LEADERSHIP also learnt, is currently shopping for an official residence as the building in Apo Quarters which used to be the speaker’s official residence has been sold off.
It was the proposed N628m renovation of the same residence that cost a former speaker, Hon. Patricia Etteh, the leadership of the House in 2007.
The Federal Capital Development Authority had spent about N57m on the house before Etteh awarded contracts for its renovation. After her exit as speaker, the agency spent another N200m to renovate the place after the proposed N400m was slashed by the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who was president then.
A national daily (not LEADERSHIP) had reported that the same building which Bankole bought is now being offered to Tambuwal for rent at the cost of N40m per annum.
A lawmaker who spoke to LEADERSHIP in confidence yesterday said.
He said: “It is true that the speaker informed us of the need to get an official residence and gave us updates on how much is being proposed for rent. We discussed the issue of the speaker’s residence on Thursday and many of us were shocked that the house was sold and, even worse, at that rate.
“The purported sale of the official residence is patently illegal and we are going to ensure that the sale is reversed because this is an official residence built with the taxpayers’ money. It is scandalous and unbelievable that such a thing can even be contemplated.
“We are likely to hold another executive session in about four, five days from now. That’s this week or next where we will take a definite stand on the issue.”
When contacted, the spokesman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Zakari Mohammed, acknowledged that the House had indeed deliberated on the matter. He added, “We? have? not reached an official position yet on what step to take on the matter.”
In a related development, the national and state House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abeokuta yesterday dismissed the petition by the former speaker Bankole of the PDP.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bankole approached the tribunal on April 29, challenging the outcome of the April 9, 2011, National Assembly election in Abeokuta South Federal Constituency.
Bankole had alleged that he polled a majority of lawful votes cast as against his opponent, Hon. Segun Williams of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), who was declared winner.
In its judgment, the chairman of the tribunal, Justice Michael Obi, held that Bankole had failed to prove the allegations beyond doubt.