|
|
Nigeria: Senate Probes Obasanjo, Anenih, Ogunlewe
 |
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
Leadership (Abuja)
30 April 2008
Posted to the web 30 April 2008
Andrew Oota
Visibly disappointed over what it described as "monumental waste of public funds" on the transport sector without any positive results, the Senate yesterday, resolved to probe the transportation sector between 1999 and 2008.
Between 1999 and 2007, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo held sway as a president, while Chief Tony Anenih was the nation's powerful minister of works between 1999 and 2003, while Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe took over from Anenih.
The upper legislative chamber also said it would probe the demolition of toll gates across the country.
Ogunlewe was the minister of works and housing when toll gates were pulled down across the country.
The Senate also passed the harmonized version of the N3.5 million salary for the president, while an annual salary of N3, 031,572.50 was also approved for the vice president.
The House of Representatives had, on April 24, 2008, passed the package for the public office holders, while the Senate did concord with the position of the House yesterday.
In a motion sponsored by 59 senators, including the deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu, and the Senate leader, Teslim Folarin, which was moved by Senator Ayogu Eze, the Senate expressed concerns "that trillions of naira have been spent in the sector in the last nine years, including but not limited to the over N100 billion spent on the rail sub-sector, the near N500 billion spent on road maintenance and construction and the consequent need to train more attention on what happened or did not happen in that sector during the period in question."
Senator Eze recalled, "Not too long ago, a former governor of one of the South-East states accused a former minister of works of squandering over N300 billion on Nigerian roads in one year with nothing to show for the money's whereabout. The affected minister himself admitted that the amount was approved but that the actual drawn-down was about N200 billion plus."
Former governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Kalu Uzor had accused Anenih of squandering the sum of N300 billion on roads without any positive impact, although the former minister had also responded that the actual amount spent was N200 billion.
The Senate also quoted section 14(b) of the constitution which states that "the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government," and that "this can only be guaranteed by providing amenities that enhance rather than inhibit the flourishing of the freedoms guaranteed in the 1999 constitution and other statutes in the land."
It also resolved and consequently set up an ad-hoc committee with the mandate to "probe without delay the management of funds appropriated for our transport sector since 1999 to date, in partial response to rising demands by our constituents and concerned Nigerians and in fulfillment of our oath of office to defend and promote the integrity of our dear fatherland."
The committee, drawn from the six geo-political zones, was equally mandated to conduct a full- scale inquiry, including public hearing, into what took place in the administration of the nation's transport policy since the advent of democracy in 1999.
Earlier on, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Works, Senator Julius Ucha, had argued against the setting up of an ad-hoc committee, stressing that his committee was competent enough to handle the probe.
This view was supported by Senators Joseph Akaagerger and Adeleke Adetunji, while Senator Odion Ugbesiah argued against categorical statement about the amount of money spent on roads as stated in the body of the motion.
Senate president David Mark drew the attention of the three senators to section 62 of the 1999 constitution which allows the Senate to set up ad-hoc committees that would handle special cases.
|
On the invitation of the Senate president, Senate deputy majority leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), threw more light on the provisions of section 62 of the 1999 constitution which allows the Senate to set up such committees.
Members of the 12-man ad-hoc panel that would probe the transportation sector are Senators Heineken Lokpobiri (chairman), Aloysius Etuk, Andrew Babalola, Felix Bademu, Ayogu Eze, Anyanwu Sylvester, Akwashika Patricia, Ohiaze Uturu, Bala Mohammed, Manzo Anthony, Mohammed K. Jubril and Umar Abubakar.
The committee is to report back to the Senate within two months.
As known to every Nigerian now, former gov. Orji Kalu is, according to the EFCC, one of the worst looters of the Nigerian treasury having been accused of stealing hundreds of millions of Naira during his tenure as the governor. With the senate using him as the autenthic reference and credible authority to start a probe against the government from which Orji Kalu is accused to have looted the treasury is an obvious proof that the Senate is being used by the politicians that have been found VERY CORRUPT and hence the Senate actions are motivated by CORRUPTION... [Read Full Text]
It defies logic, when a first class citizen like Henry Okah is imprisoned arbitrarily without prima facie evidence and tried secretly in a so-called democratic dispensation, for fighting against injustice and corruption. While the real criminals who have not only plundered and looted our resource, but have literally sent us back to the "Dark Ages" are glorified and protected from prosecution in the guise of "Rule Of Law" and "Due Process"
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 Leadership. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
