Reps return N2b to treasury as Bankole averts uproar

IN what looked like a trend, the House of Representatives yesterday joined the long list of government bodies that had so far returned unspent funds to the treasury.

It announced that a total sum of N2.1 billion had been sent back to the government coffers.

It also announced that reports of power, oil sectors debates may be considered soon.

But in a mild drama that almost mired the day's proceedings, it took the intervention of Speaker, Bankole Dimeji to arrest the seemingly brewing altercations among members.

It happened when a member took the floor to raise questions about what he considered unresolved issues.

It all started at the commencement of plenary session when the member representing Ughelli North/Ughelli south/Udu federal constituency in Delta state, Solomon Awhinawhi Awhinawhi, without recognition by Bankole, stood up to complain that he did not have the order papers and Votes and Proceedings of the previous legislative day. The Speaker, therefore, told Awhinawhi that he did not have the floor to speak and that the issue he was trying to raise had been addressed by the Chairman of the Business and Rules committee, Ita Enang.

Awhinawhi insisted on speaking but Bankole reminded him that he was not recognized to do so and when he further insisted, other members in the chamber joined the Speaker, asking him to sit down.

After he took his seat, the Speaker announced that he was in possession of a petition from the State Security Service (SSS) alleging that Awhinawhi assaulted one of their operatives and Bankole asked the member to see him after the seating.

Bankole gauged the mood of the House and suddenly asked the Majority Leader, Tunde Akogun, to move a motion for an executive session and it was done. The Guardian learnt that at the session which lasted over an hour, members took their turn to ventilate, raising questions on welfare and some actions taken by the leadership of the House. One of the issues raised, according to sources was the repayment of the N4 million advance given to some members during the Sallah and Christmas festivities last year. Some members said they thought it was an exgratia but the leadership explained that it was a kind of loan granted to the beneficiaries by the banks in the National Assembly.

Questions were also asked about the fate of the reports submitted by some committees. These include the power probe report, the report on the probe of the oil sector and the outcome of the investigation into the allegation of under hand deal in the purchase of the N2.3 billion cars for committee chairmen. Some members also expressed concern over the return of the sum of N2.1 billion being part of the capital vote for 2008 to the treasury by the leadership of the House

When the chamber reverted to plenary, the Minority Leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume, relying on order 5 (1) drew the attention of the House to the Power probe report had been lying in the cooler.

Which he said as a leader in the chamber, he was yet to be availed a copy of the report to peruse several months after the presentation by the Ndudi Godwin Elumelu committee.

Briefing journalists after the session, the chairmen of the committees on Media and public Affairs and Rules and Business, Eseme Eyiboh and Ita Enang respectively, corroborated that those issues were raised and the Speaker answered them to the satisfaction of members. 'The Speaker allowed members to ask questions on all issues and he answered them in a way that all the members left the Executive satisfied," they said.

They explained that the unspent capital vote was returned to the treasury because it was the National Assembly that made the law that such funds be returned to the treasury at the end of any fiscal year. They added that the Speaker tendered documents from the Accountant General of the Federation acknowledging that the money was deposited in the treasury.

The chairmen disclosed that they had worked out a schedule for the debate of the reports so far presented by the committees, beginning with the oil sector. According to them, members were asked to pay back the N4 million because it was an overdraft for those who benefited.