5 September 2008
Lagos — FEAR of the unknown yesterday gripped all the 26 Osun lawmakers as they departed Abuja to honour the invitation of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which is probing the lawmakers over their alleged role in the N150million constituency project fund.
The lawmakers who departed Osogbo for Abuja yesterday expressed fear over their fate as some were not sure how long they would be held by the anti-graft body. They are expected to be guests of the anti-graft body today.
Daily Champion gathered that some of the lawmakers have made spirited efforts to get lawyers in case the anti-graft body decides to arraign them for the alleged offence of diversion of the money into their private account.
While the 15 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers were said to have made contact with an undisclosed Ibadan-based legal practitioner to hold brief for them, it was gathered that the 11 Action Congress (AC) lawmakers contacted a Lagos-based Senior Advocate who had assured the lawmakers that he would personally be in Abuja to monitor unfolding events.
Apparently not to be caught unawares, some of the lawmakers were said to have prepared themselves physically and psychologically to spend some days in the gaol of the anti-graft body if they are eventually arraigned.
While the AC lawmakers were said to be apprehensive that EFCC might charge them for abandoning all the projects they have commenced, the PDP lawmakers were said to be disturbed that the EFCC might dock them for going ahead to collect the second instalment of the controversial constituency project fund.
Most of the projects abandoned by the AC lawmakers are blocks of classrooms, spread across their respective constituencies.
Speaker of the House, Adejare Bello had shortly after the AC lawmakers petitioned the EFCC questioned the motive of the petition maintaining that the decision to collect the constituency project fund was jointly taken by all members of the House.
Bello, who then expressed fear that being detained by the anti-graft body may have adverse effect on the health of the lawmakers, ho 'wever, said he was prepared for the worse.
The EFCC had on Wednesday through it spokesperson, Mr. Femi Babafemi confirmed the invitation of the Osun lawmakers. The petitions leading to the summon were written by 11-lawmakers of the House elected on the ticket of the opposition party, AC.
The EFCC also received another petition from the PDP led government which made counter-claims on the true state of things in the state as far as the constituency fund was concerned.
AC lawmakers alleged that N5 million was paid into each of their personal accounts as constituency funds, describing such an action as fraud but the state government's petition accused the AC lawmakers of collecting the money and starting the projects before they decided to return what they got from the state government as constituency funds, the source said.
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