Cosmas Ekpunobi
14 October 2008
opinion
Mix reactions have continued to trail the seeming unending probe of government ministries and agencies by the senate. Hardly had the senate ended any of its legislative day in the recent time without one or two its standing committees seeking the leave of the Upper House to conduct a full scale investigation into the activities of one government agency or another.
Most of the senators prefer to spend more of the time at the event even when the committees by virtue of the standing rules of the senate do not require the resolution of the senate before it can embark on such exercise.
Except an ad-hoc committee of the Senate, all the 54 standing committees may not require the resolution of the senate to beam their search light in any of the government agencies for which in the first place it has over-sight powers.
It is even more curious to see some of the senators scrambling to serve in any of the probe panels not because of the love for the job but for the naira rain that characterized similar exercises in the senate.
Sources alleged that some of the agencies would chase around the senators with very tempting gifts each time the panel beams its search light on them in a desperate bid to cover to cover their past.
It is not known how many of the committees have resisted such gifts, but what is clear is that the reports of such are yet to see the light of the day.
Many questions have been asked about the report of senate panel that first probed the account of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The report on the political crisis in Anambra state has been put to rest for now after several million s of naira were lavished on the exercise by the senate.
Similar report on roads contracts by the late Senator Idris Kuta-led panel can no longer be traced even after the late lawmakers had beaten his chest that he had done a good work,
The report of another panel he headed which first probed the demolition exercise by former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Mallam El Rufia as fantastic as they have been dumped.
Several millions of naira are often voted for the exercise and experience has shown that most of the p[robe panel would often come back to the senate to ask for more time and fund to complete the exercise.
Asking for more time or money by any of such committees is always the beginning of the problem that may defeat the whole idea of the exercise as the case may be.
While some Nigerians do not subscribe to the claims in some quarters that the whole thing is ' job for the boys,' but the jostling by some lawmakers to serve in any of the probe panels each time they are constituted is however pregnant with meaning.
What has happened to reports of similar panels in the past also cast doubt in the whole exercise.
It is however wrong to conclude that every other reports of the panels now at work will go the way of similar one s in the past.
Senate's spokesman Ayogu Ezeh had in a recent reaction insisted that the exercise was in line with the renewed posture of the Senator David Mark-led Senate to make right the wrongs that have been perpetuated in the past by some government officials who believe in the business as usual.
According to him the probe was in accordance with sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution which empowers the Senate and indeed the National Assembly to expose corruption in the running of government businesses.
He said that Senate work stops at that adding that it is the job of the executive to prosecute any body that may have been indicted by the panel.
In fact, he said that reports of the probes panels would be sent to the Attorney General of the federation for the necessary action and that Nigerians should direct their anger to the executive if nothing happens at the end of the day
Some of the patriotic lawmakers in most of these panels have rekindled the hope of some Nigerians even the some critics of the nation's apex lawmaking body .
Some of the panels had made certain chilling revelations of how some government officials have been feeding fat from public funds.
Though its still early in the day to predict how far the Senate, and indeed, the National Assembly will go in the renewed posture to bring about sanity in spending of public funds
The beauty of the whole exercise is that some government agencies especially those still dancing the old music(corruption) are now apprehensive.
President Umaru YarAdua in a move that may have given more impetus to the gale of probe in the National Assembly has said that no minister or head of government agency indicted by any of the probe panels would go unpunished .
This remark underscored the importance with which the affected government officials are responding to the invitation by the Senate probe panels.
In fact the likes of the minister of transport, Mrs Dezieani Alison-Madueke and her finance counterpart, Dr. Shamsuden Usman, have lost count of how many times they have been summoned by the senate in the recent time.
The duo and others who have taken their turn at the Senate in the recent time may have every reason not to forget their experiences in a hurry.
Some of the agencies, especially those who have a lot to hide would initially resist the attempt by any of the panels to have access to the books but would cave in the moment the panel threatened to cause the arrest of the head of such parastatals.
The former permanent secretary in the presidency, Dr. Hakeen Baba Ahmed, was forced to cut short his overseas trip recently when the adhoc committee probing the transport sector in the nine years threatened to issue a warrant of arrest on him.
Former Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Mallam El Rufia is one man that would not forget his experience in the hands of the senators in a hurry.
The former FCT minister has not only been indicted by the senate adhoc committee on the sale of government houses in Abuja of abuse of office but has been barred by the Senator Abubarkar Sodengi led panel form holding any other public office.
The committee has also asked him to cough out over N32 billion which cannot be accounted for from the sale of the said houses.
El Rufia is currently in court in his desperate bid to vacate the charges.
Recently, two former ministers of aviation, Chief Femi-Fani Kayode and Babalola Borishade were picked at the National Assembly in connection with their alleged role in the mismanagement of N19.5 billion aviation intervention fund.
The duo were arrested by some operatives of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) shortly after their defence before the Senator Anyim Udeh-led panel.
The two former ministers were alleged to have played some key role in the N6 billion contract inflation for the radar project .
Former minster of works, Chief Tony Anenih has also taken his turn . Chief Anenih for the first time was compelled by the senate to explain what he did with the over N300 billion voted for the ministry under him.
The former minister told the committee that he received less than N200 billion while in office and that the allegation that he squandered over N300 billion for the same period was only the imagination of some satanic persons some of whom he said had come to ask him for forgiveness.
The minister of transport, Mrs. Madueke, was yet to give satisfactory explanation on why her ministry spent the whopping sum of N39 billion in five days including the boxing day.
Just last Thursday the panel queried the ministry for unauthorised spending of N9.5 billion.
The panel at its resumed session accused most government agencies and ministries of what it described as flagrant misapplication of the budgets.
Trouble started recently when the minister of state for transport (marine), John Okechukwu, told the charged forum that his ministry collected only N5.8 billion out of the N15 billion approved for it in the 2008 budget.
According to him additional N9.5billion was however approved for varoius projects by ministry through executive fiat.
The minister in his presentation informed the committee that Nigerian Ports Authority, (NPA) within the period generated a total of N548.336 billion.
Emeka also told the committee that development levy raked in N47.27 billion within the period.
According to the minister, the total amount remitted to the Federation Account within the nine years by the NPA was N11. 363 billion.
But the Nigerian Shippers' Council generated a total revenue of N13. 722 billion while it remitted only N300 million to the treasury.
Regarding the Inland Waterways Authority, the minister said that a total of N12. 998 billion was released to the authority out of the N30.070 billion appropriated. He said only N18 million was remitted to the treasury.
The Authority according to the minister generated N2.367 billion within the period.
Lokpobiri also expressed the committee's anger at the conflicting figures presented by the minister pointing out that the committee could not make any sense from the figures so far presented.
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