http://www.thetimesofnigeria.com/Article.aspx?id=2232


Question: Why would a 'New Generation Politician' wink at monumental fraud, corruption and abuse of office under his watch? Answer: He wants to join the big league looters of office.

Yes, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nigeria's own golden boy, Hon Oladimeji Bankole has succumbed to the lures of filthy lucre and joined the official looters of Nigeria's treasury. He just bought himself an empty plot in the worlds’ most exclusive parches of earth - Aso Villa.

Investigations has reveals that Hon Oladimeji Bankole has purchased a plot of land inside Aso Villa for over N345 million.

The plot of land, a portion of the yet to be fully developed properties inside the exclusive highbrow residency was bought from a former minister in the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration, Salome Jankada.

Hon Bankole who ascended the Speakership of the lower Legislature after the ouster of Hon Patricia Etteh on charges of corruption allegedly upped the price offer for the property to have an edge over others who have expressed interest in the property.

Several telephones calls to the lines of his media aides elicited negative response as at time of filling this story

Hon Bankole, despite rising to power on a platform of anti-corruption has smiled off and bull-dozed his way through charges of corruption, abuse of office and inflation of contract allegations committed under his watch by the House of Representatives.

Notably, Bankole did approve a memo requesting for the purchase of 380 vehicles, ostensibly for use as official cars by members of the House, a clear contravention of the monetisation policy of the federal government initiated by the President Obasanjo administraton.

Further, the action contradicted the recommendation of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission ( RMAFC) that only the Senate President, his deputy, the Speaker and his deputy are entitled to official cars, while the rest are only entitled to motor vehicle loans, repayable in four years.

Incidentally, if the House needed official cars, it cannot ask for 380 cars in 2008 because on assumption of office in 2007, car loans were approved for members of the National Assembly in addition to the provision of a vehicle maintenance allowance of about N1.5m for Senators and N1.49m for House members each, annually.

Allegations were rife that House leadership hand -picked Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria {PAN} as the sole contractor without competitive bidding. Festus Keyamo, a Lagos based lawyer who raised alarm over the deals alleged that PAN was billed to supply Peugeot 407 ST Sport series at N6,209,175m each but instead provided Peugeot 407 Comfort with fewer specifications at N5.1m each.

Accordinf to the controversial lawyer, taxpayers were short-changed by over N421,486,500 in the deal.

Mr Bankole and his co-travellers denied the allegation. Hon. Ita Enang, chairman, House Committee on Ethics and Business dismissed the whole affair as a mere storm in a tea cup.

Said Enang: the House had placed orders for a number of bullet proof vehicles for the Speaker and his deputy at the sum of N52.8million a piece. "The vehicles would have cost the tax payers between N82m and N105m each had his committee allowed the quoted price to stand.

"The House should rather be applauded for saving over N25million on the transactions”. This clearly shows that the so-called investigation is a charade and mere play to the gallery." the smooth talking lawye-politician opined.