Chuks Okocha
12 May 2008
Abuja — Former vice-president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, may not appear before the House of Representatives Committee probing the contracts in the power sector today as he is said to be experiencing flight difficulties from the United States.
His Media Adviser, Mallam Garba Shehu, also said last night that the former vice-president was waiting for the committee to resolve the seeming fog arround the invitation.
Shehu said the former Vice President, who is currently abroad, was advised to stay back in the United States pending when the House committee makes up its mind on when he should appear before it.
The House committee had last week dispatched letters of invitations to former president Olusegun Obasanjo, his former deputy, Abubakar, and the immediate past Finance minister, Mrs Nenadi Usman. According to the letters, they were to appear before the committee on Monday, May 12, 2008 (today) at 10 am in the Conference Hall of the new building of the House.
The invitation to appear was said to have been dispatched to the former president at his Obasanjo Farm, 30 Idiroko/Owode Road, Ogun State, through DHL, while Atiku's letter was delivered at his 18 Oba Akenzua Street residence in Abuja. Atiku in a letter dated May 7, 2008 and signed on his behalf by Abdullahi Nyanko and sent to the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Power and Steel, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu indicated his intention to appear before the committee.
Atiku had promptly responded by saying he would appear before the committee today.
Shehu's statement hinged Atiku's appearance on the communication of a specific date of appearance to him by the committee.
The statement also hinted that apart from the date of appearance being awaited, Atiku cannot be in the country earlier than Tuesday due to flight difficulties.
The statement said: "We have been asked concerning the House Public Hearing on the Power Sector, I suggest that you check with the legislature.
"Our sense is that the hearing is not going ahead. So we were told to advise the former vice-president not to bother himself rushing back home. Hon. Ndudi Elumelu said he would give us his position this evening. Of course Atiku had flight difficulties of his own and will have been in Nigeria only Tuesday.
"Please be assured of Atiku's readiness to come before them whenever the legislators make up their mind."
THISDAY however gathered that apart from the flight problems encountered by Atiku, the disquiet within the members of the House of Representatives committee probing the power sector funders under the last admnistration was part of the reason why the former vice-president was asked to stay back until a final decision to invite him was made.
Some members of the House including Hon. Dave Salako from Ogun state had alleged that the Chairman of the Committee over stepped his powers with the invitation extended to former president Obasanjo and Atiku.
A source in the office of the speaker of the House told THISDAY that "the Speaker was not aware that an invitation was extended to Chief Obasanjo.
And when the speaker contacted the deputy speaker, he claimed that he was not aware of the invitation extended to both the former president and his deputy."
The source said that Elumelu was immediately contacted to stay further action on the matter until Monday (today) when the principal officers of the House would meet to take a decision on the issue.
This, the source said, informed the decision of Atiku to shelve his intention to return to Nigeria from the United States.
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