From Kolade Adeyemi, Jos

House of Representatives Majority Leader Alhassan Ado Doguwa has said the House will not shy away from sanctioning any government agency that violates any law of the land or is found wanting in its operations.

The lawmaker urged members of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to always cross-check their facts before attempting to discredit the House.

Doguwa was responding to an allegation the PDP leveled against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on the suspension of sittings of various House committees to enable their members observe the annual recess.

Some of the committees were probing corruption cases and graft-related matters.

In a statement on Monday in Jos, the Plateau State capital, Doguwa insisted that investigations into government agencies, including the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust (NSITF), the review of the Power sector as well as all other allegations of corruption in government expenditure, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), had not been discontinued, as alleged by the PDP.

He said: “All the pending investigations will continue as the House reconvenes.

“If it will be of interest to the PDP, the investigations the House is currently undertaking, including the Chinese loans, cover the 16 years the PDP was in power and when most of the loans were obtained. So, maybe they should be thanking the House leadership for covering up their misdeeds.

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“The House under the vibrant and responsive leadership of Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila will remain focused, committed and well-guided in safeguarding our institutional integrity, without necessarily jeopardising our good working relationship with the Muhammadu Buhari-led popular government,” Doguwa said.

The lawmaker reminded the main opposition that “committees do not sit during annual summer recess”.

He added: “The Judiciary is on recess and only one or two courts open for administrative purposes. All the courts are locked up and posed to continue cases (including corruption cases) only upon their resumption.”

He faulted the opposition for its ignorance on the workings of the National Assembly.

On another allegation by the PDP on the $500 billion China loan, he said: “It was either a deliberate misrepresentation of facts or utter ignorance of the legislative duties and procedures by an apparently confused opposition.

“It is pertinent to know that the loan has already been approved by the National Assembly through a transparent and formal request. The government has also captured it in the 2020 Appropriation law and, therefore, should not be a subject of any controversy or query in the committee’s investigation process, at least for now. And as a matter of norm and procedure, the House can only wait until disbursements and utilisation begin before embarking on oversight implementation.”