The Senate President, Senator Bukola
Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu
Dogara, on Monday described as baseless a claim by the former All
Progressives Congress Interim
National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, that
their elections on June 9 were sponsored by oil barons.
Saraki and Dogara stated this in separate statements by their aides in Abuja on Monday.
Akande, in a widely publicised statement
on Sunday, had alleged that oil barons who never liked President
Muhammadu Buhari`s anti-corruption stance, sponsored the elections of
Saraki and Dogara in a bid to stifle the new government.
Akande
also alleged that some splinter groups within the APC were aligning
with old and new Peoples Democratic Party forces to launch a platform
for the 2019 polls.
Dogara, in a statement in Abuja by his
Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan,
challenged Akande to name the oil barons.
The speaker said he expected Akande, an
elder statesman, to play his fatherly role at a period of disputes
within the APC’s family by seeking ways to reconcile the factions,
rather than attacking his person.
Dogara said that the allegations existed
only in Akande’s “imagination”, adding that he won his election based
on the support of his colleagues, his competence and capacity to preside
over the House as the Speaker.
The speaker recalled that the first
investigative motion passed by the House after his election was to probe
the alleged crude oil swap contracts awarded by the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation.
He noted that it did not make sense for
him to back the probe of the same oil sector’s stakeholders Akande
alleged to have sponsored his election.
Part of the statement read, “It is
baseless and lacking in substance and merit and can best be described as
figment of Chief Akande`s imagination.
“We challenge Chief Akande to name the so-called oil barons whom he alleged sponsored the election of the speaker.
“In case Chief Akande does not know, the
first investigative motion adopted by the 8th House of Representatives
under the leadership of the Speaker was to investigate the allegation of
fraud in the oil-swap contract awarded by the NNPC.
“A resolution for investigation into the
allegation was passed to constitute an ad-hoc committee to investigate
the NNPC as well as its subsidiary, Pipelines and Products Marketing
Company, over the swap contracts.
“How then can the House, under the
leadership of Mr. Speaker, order investigation into activities of those
who allegedly sponsored its election?”
The speaker claimed that his
anti-corruption stance was not in doubt as the Legislative Agenda of the
8th House of Representatives adequately captured it.
“Mr. Speaker has on different occasions
reiterated his resolve to compliment President Buhari`s anti-corruption
stance and insists that the present crop of leaders don’t have any
excuse to give to Nigerians on the change promised them before and
during the election that brought the APC into power”, he said.
Also, the Special Assistant to the
Senate President on Print Media, Chuks Okocha, described the allegations
as mischievous and totally false.
Okocha, in a statement in Abuja on
Monday, said Akande’s claim gave a negative and dirty impression that
the emergence of the senate president was aimed at sabotaging the
anti-corruption posture of Buhari’s government and the ‘Change agenda’
of the APC.
He said, “Ordinarily, we would have
ignored the report, but for the sole reason that some undiscerning
readers might mistake the fiction for the facts.
“We also wish to state unequivocally
that it was wrong and mischievous for the statement by Chief Akande to
link what happened on the floor of both chambers to some unnamed oil
barons.
“We dare say that the entire story was the figment of the imagination of the author.”
Okocha added that Saraki, as the
chairman of an ad hoc committee in the 7th Senate, exposed the fraud and
mismanagement in the oil sector.
He said, “Until Saraki raised his motion
on the floor of the Senate, no one was in the picture of the rot in the
sector or took any action.”
“Senator Saraki will be the last person
the oil baron will want to see as Senate President. No doubt, we make
bold to state that Saraki is the last person to be so sponsored by the
oil barons or cabals.
“In that position, Saraki did not only
lead his colleagues in exposing the rot in the scheme, but made very
strong recommendations on how the system could be reformed and made
corruption- free.”
Okocha said that it was on records that
after Saraki’s motion on the floor of the Senate, the House of
Representatives followed it up with the oil subsidy probe.
He recalled that the ministers of Finance and Petroleum were summoned and, at least, over N500bn was saved.
Okocha said, “During the Senate hearing
on the missing $20bn, for those who attended the public hearing, Senator
Saraki led the onslaught of difficult questions to the Minister of
Finance, Minister of Petroleum and other federal agencies, despite being
in the ruling party then.
“To this effect, Senator Saraki refused
to sign the final copy of the committee’s report but rather, put forward
a minority report with a press statement that followed suit.”
He added that Saraki opposed the
inclusion of kerosene subsidy in the 2015 budget, adding that the senate
president rejected the Petroleum Swap deal by the NNPC.
Okocha stated, “Let it be known,
therefore, that the Senate Presidency of Dr. Bukola Saraki would not in
any way be a stumbling block against President Buhari’s posture against
anti- corruption.
“Rather, the 8th Senate under him as the
president would give all necessary legislative support to the
administration to fight and reduce corruption as his previous actions
and bold steps taken against the so called oil barons indicate that
Saraki is committed to anti-corruption.”
He said that Saraki was elected
unopposed as the Senate President, adding that it was a lie that his
election was sponsored by oil barons.
“Senator Bukola Saraki is determined and focused to achieve for the Senate targeted legislative agenda and he is committed to support President Buhari to deliver on his promises to the people of Nigeria,” Okocha said
No comments:
Post a Comment