The House of Representatives was in the news all through last week, having found itself in yet another bribery scandal, this time involving oil marketer, Mr Femi Otedola and the man who was in the news in the last few months for successfully probing the subsidy scam, Hon Farouk Lawan. Reps Diary chronicles the events as they unfolded. By Adesuwa Tsan and Edegbe Odemwingie, Abuja
A popular speaker indeed!
Sinister moves on Friday by some interests to effect the impeachment of the Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal over alleged links with the bribery scandal rocking the Lower House failed in spectacular fashion.
Instead, Representative Samson Osagie (Edo/ACN) led other federal lawmakers to unanimously pass a vote of confidence on the speaker at Friday’s emergency session which suspended the Chairman of the Ad Hoc committee, Farouk Lawan, that investigated the federal government’s petroleum subsidy regime.
Reports linked the leadership of the Lower House including its Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha and other principal officers with complicity in the damning bribery tale.
Specifically, Ihedioha presided over consideration of the subsidy probe report that led to the removal of Synopsis Enterprises Ltd and Zenon Petroleum & Gas Ltd from the list of marketers that obtained forex but failed to import petroleum products.
The Lower House Spokesman who doubles as the Chairman, House committee on Media and Public Affairs, Zakari Mohammed told this paper on phone that the impeachment tales were “mere speculations.”
Zakari said events that led to the passing of a vote of confidence on Tambuwal was clear testament of the absurdity of the report. “There was nothing like that”, he emphasised.
According to reports, N1million each was made available to Representatives to see through the impeachment plot. Zakari pooh poohed the report as “totally false.”
However, several lawmakers confirmed that there was indeed an attempt to induce them to cause confusion in the emergency sitting if the impeachment plan fails. According the notice for the convening point, which was given as the presidential villa, was delivered via text message to their phones. While some of them stayed away, others went to honour the invite and left with a “takeaway package” of N1million each.
But it was a case of chop clean mouth because Friday’s emergency was convened over the $3 million bribery scandal involving chairman of the Lower House Ad Hoc committee that probed the management of fuel subsidy regime, Farouk Lawan, and chairman of Zenon Oil, Femi Otedola was peaceful, orderly and devoid of any impeachment sign.
Oil tycoon, Otedola, in a recent interview with a national newspaper, said Lawan and the Secretary of the Committee, Mr. Boniface Emenalo, had collected $620,000 from him in a sting operation masterminded by security agencies.
The total agreed bribes amounted to $3million before details of the deal leaked.
As at Thursday, several reports portrayed a sharply divided House as per the next line of action in resolving the latest of bribery scandal rocking the seventh House. Checks confirmed meetings of various zonal caucuses in the House at different locations in Abuja to take decisions on the bribery scandal.
Also, principal officers met on Thursday to fashion out strategies to check the suspected impeachment plot and determine the mode of the House emergency proceeding.
Reps happy over Farouk’s fall?
Not a few members of the House are rejoicing over the ‘entrapment’ of former chairman of Subsidy Probe Committee, Farouk Lawan. Many of the lawmakers, especially the new ones, said it was high time he got cut to size because of his high handed attitude towards them. Another crime the lawmaker had allegedly committed was not carrying his fellow committee members along during their assignment, in the Education committee as well, and always having the final word on every discussion.
It will be recalled that the embattled lawmakers allegedly left out his committee members in the $620 deal, choosing to go along with the clerk of the committee, Boniface Emenalo. According to reports, he also denied any knowledge of the bribe when approached by the leadership of the House till it dawned on him that he had been boxed into a corner.
He was also described as a lone ranger who prefers to walk alone and finds it difficult to acknowledge greetings from his colleagues. So naturally, it was a welcome development to them when the news of the scandal broke. They however state that they regret the damage the incident could have caused the entire House.
Kudos for Dangote’s planned rebuilding of 45km Obajana-Kabba road
While one Nigerian business tycoon is not on the good books of the House of Representatives at the moment for attempting to drag their reputation to the dogs, another one is being applauded for his contribution to the development of the country.
Alike Dangote has received accolades from one of the lawmakers from Kogi State over plans by Dangote Cement to rebuild the 45km Obajana-Kabba road in the state. Representative of the area in the House, Yusuf Ayo Tajudeen lastTuesday said the move further endeared the company to the people in the area.
The company’s President/Chairman, Aliko Dangote, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, promised on Monday that it would rebuild the dilapidated 45km road.
In a letter by the federal lawmaker to the business magnate, Tajudeen said the gesture portrayed Dangote “as a responsive investor, considerate administrator and altruistic personality.”
Tajudeen recalled two separate correspondence to the business magnate on October 19, 2011 Ref No. HYAT/NASS/DGL/014/01 and May 16, 2012 Ref No. HYAT/NASS/DADDG/017/05 strongly appealing for the rehabilitation of the road as part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The letter dated June 11, 2012 read in parts, “This noble initiative is further proof of your sterling attribute as a pragmatic industrialist that does business with human face; positively, touching lives of host communities.
“Be assured of the continued support and understanding of the good people of Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu federal constituency in realizing the corporate objective of Obajana Cement Company and the entire Dangote Group.
Last Monday’s inauguration of the third production line at the cement factory would make Obajana the largest cement plant not only in Nigeria but biggest on the African continent and one of the largest in the world, with a total capacity of 13.25 million metric tonnes per annum.