• Lawmakers accuse ICPC of abusing its powers

• Criticise NFIU’s scrutiny of N’ Assembly accounts

• Buhari not teleguiding anti-graft agencies, aide insists

As the Senate resumes a new legislative session today following its nine-week recess, it could be embroiled in a face-off with the executive arm of government over alleged attempts by some anti-graft agencies to smear the image of the National Assembly.

One of such issues, according to National Assembly sources, is the current investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) into alleged abuses in the execution of constituency projects.

A recent disclosure by the anti-graft commission about having established cases of abuse and non-execution of contracts, even after money had been paid, is believed to be stirring concern among lawmakers.

In its initial reaction, the Senate accused the anti-graft commission of abusing its powers by resorting to sensationalism in its investigation.

Senate spokesman and chairman of its committee on media and public affairs, Adedayo Adeyeye, told The Guardian it was unfortunate that the ICPC went public with the investigation even when it was yet to contact the leadership of the National Assembly or at least the lawmakers involved in the said projects.

Some lawmakers are reportedly putting pressure on the Senate leadership to allow them raise the matter for debate next week.

“It is sad that having resolved to work together with the executive arm for good governance in this dispensation, some attempts are being made to rubbish the legislature and create wrong impressions to Nigerians. I can’t say how the matter would be handled but certainly we will not keep quiet about it,” said an All Progressives Congress (APC) member from the North East.

He added: “Many of our colleagues are of the view that the issue should be subjected to open debate. But no matter what happens, we must deliberate on it either openly or behind closed doors.”

The Senate had in the past insisted that besides appropriating the funds, it had no hands in the execution of the projects.

Adeyeye maintained that as an anti-corruption body, the ICPC should not ignore fair hearing in the discharge of its responsibilities. He said: “First, I must say that I am not aware of any investigation of constituency projects by the ICPC.

And if there is any, it must be a sort of preliminary investigation. Even at that, the commission ought to have done due diligence by extending an invitation to those lawmakers concerned. If it is about the whole National Assembly or Senate, as the case may be, it should also have heard from the institution concerned before going public.

“The ICPC was established for very serious issues of corruption, not for sensationalism. It is in the best interest of justice to always give fair hearing to whoever or whatever institution is concerned. To just rush to the public about a particular investigation on which due diligence of fair hearing has not been done is to say the least improper.”

The ICPC, which is currently probing constituency projects across the nation, said at the weekend that its investigation had already exposed some shady deals. It promised to make its findings on all abandoned projects public very soon.

The ICPC commissioner in Edo State, Mr. Yusuf Olatunji, cited the state as an example of where a project was awarded to one contractor twice with no job done.

He spoke at a town hall meeting organised by Social Action with support from the MacArthur Foundation. He promised that those found culpable would be prosecuted.

“Just last week, we discovered another contract which we have not made public. We are still working on it to know how true it is. I cannot tell you for now but the commission will make public the outcome of all the constituency projects tracking.

“The idea of investigating the constituency projects is not to witch-hunt anybody. The idea is to examine what they have done with our money. Constituency projects have been a major channel through which public funds are being siphoned,” Olatunji said.

The ICPC had last June begun the first phase of investigation into alleged fraudulent procurement in contracts worth over N15 billion across 12 states. The investigating panel is currently working in Lagos, Osun, Kogi, Benue, Adamawa, Bauchi, Sokoto, Kano, Imo, Enugu, Akwa Ibom and Edo States. The team is expected to look into at least six controversial projects in each of the states, based on petitions and complaints already received by the commission.

The Spokesperson of the commission, Rasheedat Okoduwa, said: “The ICPC is carrying out the exercise with support from the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Budget Office of the Federation, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Premium Times, International Centre for Investigative Reporting, Public and Private Development Centre, Bureau of Public Procurement, Community for Peace and Corrupt-free Society and BudgIT. In Lagos, the ICPC investigating committee is probing the construction of a community recreation centre in Epe, which was awarded at a cost of N720 million in 2016.”

The presidency, meanwhile, has distanced itself from insinuations that President Muhammadu Buhari is influencing anti-graft agencies to investigate the lawmakers.

According to the special adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, yesterday, “By now, everyone should know that President Buhari does not teleguide the anti-graft agencies. Only mischief makers would sing the same song over and over.”

Another issue fanning the face-off between the Senate and the presidency is the insistence of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to monitor the bank accounts of top leaders of the National Assembly.

Checks revealed that many lawmakers are bitter about NFIU’s move. One lawmaker argued that the entire institution of the National Assembly is being targeted for embarrassment.

“They are saying that the check on the accounts of leaders of the National Assembly and other political leaders is a routine one. If I may ask, why did they not extend the checks to the executive arm of government? Are there no political leaders in the executive arm of government?” he asked

It was learnt that the leadership of the Senate plans to meet President Muhammadu Buhari on the “need to caution” the NFIU to exercise diplomacy in matters concerning the National Assembly.

The NFIU had recently written to all banks requesting information on the accounts of the National Assembly, National Judicial Council, members of the National Assembly, Principal Officers, and the management of the National Assembly Service Commission.

The banks are expected to provide the NFIU with a schedule (account names and numbers) of the agencies, principal officers affected and other relevant politically exposed persons.

The NFIU, however, later explained that Senate President Ahmad Lawan, Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief Justice of the Federation Tanko Muhammad, and other top public office holders were not under any form of investigation by its operatives.

https://m.guardian.ng/news/senate-presidency-clash-looms-over-projects-probe/

He that comes to equity must come with clean hands. If these people are finally convicted, it is better they be removed from being lawmakers. Otherwise, they won't be capable of carrying out their official duties of curtailing the excesses of the executive. My thought.

First, it was the CJN warning that he will not tolerate the disobedience of court orders. Indirectly referring to Buhari.

Now the senate is blowing hot against the executives.

Something tells me those APC put their trust in, might fail them las las.

And it will start with Muhammed nullifying Buhari's election.

cc lalasticlala


they hate anything call probe
that's why their account are not in public domain

[s]

Awol1:
First, it was the CJN warning that he will not tolerate the disobedience of court orders. Indirectly referring to Buhari.

Now the senate is blowing hot against the executives.

Something tells me those APC put their trust in, might fail them las las.

And it will start with Muhammed nullifying Buhari's election.

[/s]

IPoB yoot!

The only reason why this probe is gaining attention is that many assets belonging to those big belly politicians cum criminals are part of the assets that will be claimed by the UK. this project is a long-standing fraud. Buhari focused on Dazuki 2 billion dollar army project. He claimed to have caught the biggest fish because he had a beef with Dasuki. now the UK is bailing 9 billion dollars. which is better? it goes to show you how incompetent Buhari and his cohorts are. why focus on $2 billion and make a fat fuss about it when you could have easily probed 9 billion and save the country?
this probe is insignificant because they cannot stop the UK from ceasing properties to the amount of 9 billion dollars. the best thing to do is focus on manufacturing and export. create jobs and create export deals to raise the economy and pay off the debt. probing is a retrogressive walk. why not move forward by providing stable power and charging industries and the security system?

A Dullard is a dullard and if you expect a cow herder to think innovative, you are sitting on a high voltage pole.

warri passport office does not have paper to print passport for Nigerians for months now. Why is no one doing anything about it?

To cut the matter short, and on the main note, why am here. people help me warn those guys cussing me out to stop. they are cussing me out because I asked the following questions:
When Mohammed asked his soldiers to commit Moota which is outright prostitution with women who are not their wives, what was he promoting when he fully knew that those soldiers had wives at home.

second question: Islam teaches that God called ALL HIS/THE ANGELS and asked them to bow to Adam but Satan refused. Is Satan an angel OR A JIN?

3rd: Was the Koran recited before it was written? If yes, why did Uthman need written copies to compile the Koran?
And, if it was not recited before the Koran, then why does your doctrine teach that it was recited? If Uthman needed written copies for verification, doesn't it mean that the recitation was wrong after all? doesn't it mean that the men had no faith and conviction in the words that they recited? since uthman needed verification to prove that his recitation was wrong, how can one trust his version of the koran? this recitation, as claimed went on in many countries before the koran was written. so how many people had the wrong or unverified recitations of the koran? and most importantly, if Uthman lacked confidence in the recitation that mohammed taught him, did he really BELIEVE mohammed? why did he need to verify what mohammed taught him as against the things that he wrote down?

If Mohammed considered the verses of the Koran Holy, why did he litter copies of the Koran instead of taking it along with him as the old prophets did in the Torah(I know that you believe in the Torah). Why did they have to search for the verses (of the supposedly holy book) during compilation?

If the hunt was only for the verses, why were other versions of the Koran burnt? you will suppose that verses are not books, so why was there burning of islamic books and what books were they if not the koran? and, who wrote those koranic versions that they burned? Why not keep them to show transparent evidence of the veracity of the Koran if it had any?

under whose direction were the koranic versions burned since mohammed was long dead at the time?

since the authentication of islam is in the Bible, why was the torah (in which the muslims believe) not included in the koran?

whenever i read "according to sources".. without the newspaper naming the sources i scream fake news in trumps voice

Many headline came last week about Professor Osinbajo especially from vanguard, news like "Osinbajo stole N90bn from FIRS according to our sources"," Osinbajo as being expeled from Aso Rock according to our Aso Rock source", "SouthWest Kings went to beg Abba Kyari according to source " ... turns out it was all fake news and Vanguard are getting sued

You must be a special kind of Dunce if you think APC executive would paint APC controlled Legislature as corrupt... but we have the ussual fools that are looking forward to any negative news true or false of this administration

..

All projects need proper monitoring.
Money is not for one to loot but to do the needed project.

Power tussle wan start again ooo

Watch how some stupid Nigerians rather than protest about abandoned projects, would be talking politics.

Selfish lot

A clear conscience fears no accusation.

the kind thing wey this newspapers dey write you go begin dey wonder whether these people well so

What a suffocating force it is! You look at Nigeria: the insolence & idleness of the strong, the ignorance and brutishness of the week, incredible poverty all about us, overcrowding, degeneration, drunkenness, hypocrisy, lying, treason... Yet all is calm & stillness in the houses & in the streets; of the roughly 200 millions living in a country, there's no one who would cry out, who would give vent to his indignation aloud. We see the people going to work, going to market for provisions, eating day by day while many more are starving to death, sleeping by night, talking their silly prejudiced nonsense, getting married, growing old, serenely escorting their dead to the cemetery; but we do not see & we do not hear those who suffer, & what's terrible in this part of the world we call home goes on somewhere behind the scenes...Everything is so quiet & peaceful, & nothing protest but statistics: so many people gone out of their minds, so much destructive, divisive, hate speeches & misinformation, so many gallons of alcohol drunk, indiscriminate consumption of illicit drugs, so many children dead from malnutrition, rape, hard labour (child slavery) superstitious & ritual killings. & this order of things evidently is necessary: evidently the very rich & happy corrupt politicians & stupendously rich unholy traitors we call men of God only feel at ease because the unhappy & poor ignorant masses; divided & brainwashed by self serving religious leaders, ethnic jingoists & fantastically corrupt, morally decaded & unworthy political jobbers bear their burdens in silence & without that silence, discrimination, prejudice and hate we wouldn't be in this mess we found ourselves now.

This politicians no dey fear God o, upon all the oppression and depression, they are still hustling on how to quench us, all i want to say is that they dont really care about us.

It should start already

If you are not a thief what are you afraid of? Thank god for Muhammadu Buhari. Don't stop, please

they find it difficult to pay minimum wage it is always easy for them to do maximum embezzlement.

Clear conscience fears no accusation.

Hmm

I hate this country

judegive396:
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