Lagos — Controversy over who initiated the N628 million contracts in the House of Representatives deepened weekend as the members of the National Assembly management alleged that the House speaker, Mrs Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, wanted to hang the alleged scam on their necks.

The allegation came just as the minutes of the meeting of the Body of Principal Officers of the House which approved the contracts showed that leaders of the opposition parties in the House did not attend.

The members of the management had claimed in their separate testimonies to the nine-member committee investigating the circumstances surrounding the award of the contracts for the renovation of the official residence of the Speaker and that of her deputy, Hon. Babangida Nguroje, as well as for the purchase of additional units of vehicles that the Body of Principal Officers were responsible for the award.

Mrs. Etteh was apparently angered by the testimonies of the members of the management, which seemed to suggest that she initiated and approved the contract award whereas she believed that contract award was the responsibility of the management as members of the National Assembly Tenders' Board.

The Speaker had in her statement of defense on Friday laid the responsibility for the award of the contract at the footsteps of the members of the management who have now dissociated themselves from the Speaker's position.

Sunday Vanguard learnt weekend that the members of the management were uncomfortable with the impression created by the widely publicized statement of Mrs Etteh which they believed portrayed them in bad light.

National Assembly sources quoted them as saying that they acted on the contracts based on the instructions of the Speaker in consonance with their responsibility as loyal civil servants and wondered why Mrs Etteh would turn around to blame them for the action.

The sources revealed that the management had strongly protested the buck passing by the Speaker who they reasoned pressured them into the preparation of the contract documents, which Mrs. Etteh directed them to present at the meeting of the Body of Principal Officers where the contracts were approved.

"If we were not instructed to do what we did, we have no business renovating the Speaker's house for her," one of the management sources volunteered to Sunday Vanguard..

Also a spokesman for the clerk of the National Assembly (CNA), Mr. Monima Daminabo, confirmed that as civil servants in the service of the National Assembly, "we are answerable to the Hon. Speaker." Mrs. Etteh's apparent offensive against the management has caused ripples within their ranks as they fear that it was an attempt to make them scapegoats in the controversial contract award but they have vowed to do all that was necessary to clear the name of the management in the affair.

The July 12, 2007 meeting of the Body of Principal officers of the House which approved the controversial contracts, according to the minutes, was presided over by the speaker who is chairman of the body.

It was attended by only three other principal officers of the House namely Nguroje, deputy speaker; Hon. Bethel Amadi, chief whip and Hon. Baba Shehu Agaie, deputy majority leader.

Clearly absent at the meeting were leaders of the opposition parties in the House who by virtue of their appointments are also members of the Body of Principal Officers. The opposition parties leaders had said they were not notified about the meeting, insinuating that they were deliberately left out. Even then, other principal officers of the House who are members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, including the majority leader, Hon. Tunde Akogun, were curiously not at the parley.

Also in attendance were Hon. Wale Adegoke, Chairman, welfare adhoc committee of the House; Alhaji Nasiru I. Arabi, clerk to the National Assembly, who is secretary of the parley; Mr. O. Ogunyomi, his deputy; Mr. Niyi Ajiboye, House acting clerk, three directors of the National Assembly and two deputy directors, among others.

All present, according to the minutes, participated actively in the meeting leading to the award of six contracts for the renovation and furnishing of the residences of the speaker and her deputy as well as purchase of vehicles.

The contract for the renovation of the speaker's house went to State Co. Nigeria Ltd, out of the three firms that bidded, for N238,852,192.25 while furnishing contract was secured by Victogenvel Nigeria Ltd for N71,895,000.

Of the three companies that bidded for the contract to renovate the deputy speaker's house, Lee Development Nig. Ltd was the lucky bidder securing the contract for N90,296,225:25. The company also secured the furnishing contract for N55,200,000.

The contract for the supply of two Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles went to Kymco Motors Co. Ltd for N123,000,000 while that for the supply of two Mercedes Benz car S320 at N49,600,000 was secured by Bras Ventures Ltd. The six contracts, according to the minutes, totalled N579,216,417.50.