Uncertainty surrounds Reps’ report on Lawan, Otedola

 by John Ameh

Mr. Femi Otedola, and a lawmaker, Farouk Lawan

Six months into the investigations by the House of Representatives on the controversial $620, 000 bribery allegation, the report is still not ready, The PUNCH has gathered.

As at Sunday (yesterday), when The PUNCH checked with the House Committee on Rules and Business, the committee had neither been briefed on the report of the probe nor had any document been submitted to it.

 “There is uncertainty over the fate of this report.

“It is seven months running since the House started this investigation, but we no longer know what is happening,” a senior lawmaker confided in  in Abuja on Sunday.

The bribery transaction involved a four-time legislator (1999 to date), Mr. Farouk Lawan, and oil businessman, Mr. Femi Otedola.

Otedola claimed to have given Lawan the bribe in the wake of the April fuel subsidy probe by the House to remove the names of Otedola’s two firms from the list of indicted companies by the committee.

Lawan headed the ad-hoc committee mandated to conduct the probe.

The panel uncovered how fraudulent marketers colluded with government officials to rob the nation of over N1.07tn in subsidy scams.

The House had mandated its Committee on Ethics and Privileges in June to investigate the allegation and submit a report within 21 days.

Findings, however, indicated that despite several assurances by the House that the report would be produced, there was none as at Sunday.

Three weeks ago, a member of the Committee on Ethics and Privileges, Mr. Victor Ogene, announced that the panel would lay the report as “soon as the House resumes from the Sallah break”, but nothing happened.

The House resumed from the Sallah break on November 6.

Ogene, who in response to inquiries by our correspondent, said the report was ready, added that the committee was merely awaiting “scheduling” by the House.

When our correspondent contacted the Chairman of the panel, Mr. Gambo Musa, he declined to speak on how far he had gone with the investigation.

“I don’t want to say anything. This is not the right time; you get me?

“There is nothing to say,” Musa told The PUNCH on the telephone.

When asked about the right time he would speak, he remained silent.

The PUNCH checked with the Committee on Rules and Business, which had the responsibility of scheduling committee reports and other legislative activities for the floor.

The chairman, Mr. Albert Sam-Sokwa, told our correspondent that so far, there had been no contact between his committee and Musa’s over the progress of the $620,000 probe.

He said, “The committee has not brought it (report) to me.

“It is still with the committee. If they bring it, mine is to cause it to be laid for consideration by honourable members.

“For now, my committee has nothing to do with it because no report has come to us from the Committee on Ethics and Privileges.

“Maybe, they are putting final touches to the report.”

Punch