The Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public
Petitions, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu said on Tuesday, August 8, that
his committee will go ahead with the proposed probe of the EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim
Lamorde.Anyanwu said this when he spoke with news men in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Senate Minority
Leader , Sen. Godswill Akpabio, has in a signed statement,
dissociated himself from the planned probe.
Akpabio said that the Senate has already stood it down at plenary.
Anyanwu, however , said that Akpabio was misinformed in his
stance.
He said that the senate only rejected a prayer to invite the CBN
Governor and EFCC Chairman over a motion bordering on Naira depreciation.
Anyanwu said that Akpabio has called him to express regret over
the misinformation contained in the press statement, adding that there are no more
misunderstandings.
"Of course, this is a standing committee of the Senate.
'It is not only EFCC boss that was invited. There are other
petitions which we have invited the petitioners and those that were petitioned
against.
We have the FIRS and Comptroller General of Customs that are also
coming tomorrow. So, I don't know why this should be an issue.
"We are guided by the Senate Standing Rule and the 1999
Constitution to invite anybody when the need arises.
"If you look at the press statement by the Minority Leader of
the party, Sen. Akpabio, it was a misinformation.
"There was an amendment of a motion at the floor of the
Senate where the CBN Governor was to be invited with the EFCC boss regarding
naira depreciation and all that.
"But we stood it down. So, there was a misinformation. So, he
thought that it was the same issue. But this is a petition against the person
of the EFCC boss,” he said.
Reacting to comments credited to the spokesperson of the EFCC, Wilson
Uwujaren, that the senate did not follow due process, Anyanwu said that the
due process on petitions was followed.
He denied allegations that that the senate is seemingly on a
vendetta mission against Lamorde following the anti-graft agency’s invitation
of the wife of the President of the Senate, Mrs Toyin Saraki.
He said that the senate is on recess but some key committees will
still have to meet during the recess so as to have reports to present on the
floor upon the resumption of the senate.
"We have so many petitions, up to 10 petitions. The EFCC is
one of them and FIRS and so many of them.
"There is no situation that because we are on recess we
cannot sit.
"The issue of invitation of Senate President's wife has
nothing to do with our job. It is not on that basis (motion) that we are
inviting the EFCC boss.
"This committee is a fact-finding committee. Our job is:
every petition that comes to this committee must be treated.
"If somebody brings a petition against the EFCC boss, the
person is a Nigerian so he has the right and as long as he will come before the
committee to substantiate the petition, we must take it serious.
"If we don't take it up, people will say probably we have
been settled, that is why we didn't bring up the matter.
"It is only a mere allegation. We cannot convict anybody, we
are not a law court,” he said.
Other senators who spoke to newsmen also said that the invitation
of the EFCC helmsman has nothing to do with the commission’s invitation of Mrs
Saraki.
Sen. Rafiu Ibrahim (APC Kwara South), described
the allegation of vendetta as `laughable’ and wondered if the petition was
written by a senator.
"Every Nigerian has the right to write to the Senate and all
issues will be taken very seriously without bias by this 8th Senate.
"We have keyed in totally to the anti-corruption fight as
being led by President Muhammadu Buhari.
"The parties involve just need to proof their facts and the
Senate will make appropriate recommendations to be executed by the Executive,” he said.
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