The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Reps

  • Reps oppose a minute silence for Saro-Wiwa

    Reps oppose a minute silence for Saro-Wiwa

    The House of Representatives yesterday kicked against a proposal by Kingsley Chinda (PDP-Rivers) to observe a minute-silence in honour of late environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, 22 years after he died.

    He said the Federal Government was slow in the clean-up of the region, as recommended in the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report forwarded to it in 2011.

    Saro-Wiwa was killed with eight others by former military government on November 10, 1995, for fighting for rights of the Ogoni people.

    The lawmakers said it would be inappropriate to grant Saro-Wiwa the honour, arguing that his execution was “duly considered and endorsed by the government.”

    The House, however, regretted that 22 years after, the environmental situation in the Niger Delta, which the late environmentalist fought for, had not improved.

    It urged the Federal Government to declare Ogoni land an “Ecological Disaster Zone’’ and invest resources tackle the devastation.

    Benjamin Wayo (Benue – APC) said: “While I agree that the environmental situation in Niger Delta is pitiable, we have to be careful in adopting the prayer in the motion, calling for one minute silence for the late environmentalist.

    “Section 33 (1) of the Constitution says every person has a right to life. It is only permissible to be taken through constitutional means, just as it was done in this case.

    “Therefore, it will be out of order to observe a minute silence for Saro-Wiwa under this circumstance.”

    Onyemaechi Mrakpor (Delta – PDP) said observing a minute-silence for Saro-Wiwa or not, would not change the narrative that the pollution and infrastructure decay in the Niger Delta had not abated.

    He said: “The things Ken Saro-Wiwa stood for are still there as they have not been addressed. There is no clean water to drink, and environmental pollution is still there.”

    “It is not all about one minute-silence; we should be concerned about enhancing the environment in the Niger Delta.”

     

  • Reps to EFCC: Fish out Maina

    Reps to EFCC: Fish out Maina

    The House of Representatives has written the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes  Commission (EFCC) Mr. Ibrahim Magu to arrest and prosecute the former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina.

    The decision of the Representatives was conveyed in a letter through the Clerk  to the National Assembly, Mr. M. A. Sani-Omolori .

    The November 7 letter was in line with the House’s resolution of  October 24.

    In the letter, the House urged EFCC to “immediately arrest the former Chairman of Pension Reform Task Team, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, for prosecution “in order to serve as deterrent to others who might have corrupt tendencies”.

    “The House of Representatives has already constituted an Ad-Hoc Committee charged with the responsibility of investigating the circumstances surrounding the re-surfacing, re-absorbing and subsequent elevation of Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina from the rank of Assistant Director (the position he held before he was removed in 2013, to the position of an Acting Director) and to recommend strong sanctions against any person or persons who are implicated in the scandal.”

    A source said: “Maina, who is the subject of investigation for alleged pension fraud, slipped into the country a few months ago and was sensationally reabsorbed into the civil service and promoted acting director.

    “He remains on the wanted list of the EFCC, which last week published a fresh wanted person notice on the suspect.

    “The EFCC called on anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact the commission or report to the nearest police station.

    “The suspect has not been seen in public since an online media published news of his dubious reinstatement into the public service.”

    The EFCC declared Maina wanted for his alleged role in the fraudulent biometric contracts through which he and former Head of Service, Steve Oronsaye and two others allegedly mismanaged over N2billion of pension funds.

    Maina was also on July 21, 2015 charged alongside Oronsaye , Osarenkhoe Afe and Fredrick Hamilton Global Services Limited before a Federal High Court with a 24-count charge bordering on procurement fraud and obtaining by false pretence.

    Oronsaye and two others were in court and pleaded not guilty to the charge Maina has been at large.

     

  • Reps investigate Customs import waivers

    Lawmakers in the Green Chamber yesterday mandated its Customs and Excise Committee to investigate the handling of import duty revenues, waivers and bonds on import duties collected by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) from 2010 till date.

    The resolution was sequel to the passage of the prayers of a motion sponsored by a member, Hon. James Abiodun Faleke (APC, Lagos) and 14 others.

    The committee is also mandated to “determine the nature and extent of abuse of the Customs Pre-Arrival Assessment Reports (PAAR) by importers and officials of the Customs Service in order to recover the revenues due to the Federal Government but  which were not paid.”

    The House further empowered the committee to probe the abuse of import duty waivers given by the Federal Ministry of Finance and its effects on the economy and identify the companies or individuals that have refused to redeem the bonds even after clearing their imports.

    The committee is to conclude its assignment and report back to to the House within 90 days for further legislative action.

    While moving the motion, Faleke said that except those that were granted waivers and are on the prohibited list, the Nigeria Customs Service is mandated, among other things, to collect duties on all goods imported into Nigeria.

    He said: “the Nigeria Customs Service customarily issues Pre-Arrival Assessment Reports which are used to assess duties payable on imported goods but the Reports are sometimes compromised by importers, thereby leading to under payment of duties in billions of Naira;

    “The Ministry of Finance gave series of duty waivers to companies in line with the policy of government to assist businesses, but in most cases, the waivers were used to import goods not listed on the approval, thereby depriving the government of the needed revenues;.”

    “Some importers, most times, issue bank and/or insurance bonds to Nigeria Customs Service in lieu of duty payments to enable the importers clear the imported goods immediately and thereafter expected to redeem the bonds by paying the appropriate duty rates, but information reveals that the Bonds are either partially redeemed or never redeemed at all.”

    According to the lawmaker,   the inability of the federal government to finance the 2017 budget and meet its other obligations made the ministry of finance to source for funds from local Banks and the capital market through “sukuk” etc., meanwhile there are leakages in revenue collections by the Nigeria Customs Service.

  • Reps targets 5,000 jobs with farm settlements

    The House of Representatives is targeting 5,000 direct and indirect jobs with the establishment of farm settlements across the country.

    The lawmakers are also seeking to raise funding from 10-20 percent for Agriculture from the Ecological Fund.

    Its Committee on Agricultural Services has also begun additional legislative work on  a bill “for an Act to Amend the National Agricultural Land Development Authority Act, 2004 to Increase its Membership and Functions for Strategic Operations and Interests and to Vest in the Authority Powers to Establish Farm Settlements across the Country for the Purposes of Attaining Food Sufficiency and to Establish the National Farm Settlement and Youth Empowerment Agency to create a Mechanised System of Farming”.

    The bill, which seeks the establishment of farm settlements in Federal Constituencies in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is sponsored by Evelyn Oboro and two others.

    It passed second reading on November 1, 2017

    Members supported the bill saying it aligns with the current focus of the federal government to diversify the economy and create jobs for an estimated five thousand unemployed youths.

    Oboro, who represents Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie Federal Constituency of Delta State, said apart from the job component of the bill, the element of lack of standardisation of food exports would be taken care of.

    In a chat with reporters at the weekend, she said: “We have been talking about diversifying the economy of our great nation and agriculture is the main area we are looking at.

    “The funding of the agency is just 10 percent from the Ecological Funds. We are asking that it be moved up to 20 percent. It has nothing to do with the Federal Government budget.

    “Not only that, we’re also asking for farm settlements in different constituencies across the country as well as a law backing the establishment of farm settlements where large and medium up-takers can do business with female and young farmers, will go a long way in stemming the rural- urban drift as well as reduce poverty in low income communities.”

    She said with the amendment of the bill, the issue of the export of substandard agricultural produce will be reduced to the minimum level in the country

    The committee is expected to turn in its report to the House in a couple of weeks in preparation for the third reading

  • NECA sues Reps to court for frequent summon of CEOs

    NECA sues Reps to court for frequent summon of CEOs

    Employers are not happy that company chiefs are being summoned frequently by lawmakers.

    Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has sued the House of Representatives to court over the matter.

    According to the group, the actions of the lawmakers have been undermining business sustainability and growth.

    NECA is specifically praying the court to interpret Sections 88 and 89 of the Constitution, which the lawmakers rely on to summon the CEOs in the name of oversight functions.

    At a briefing in Lagos, its Director-General, Mr. Olusegun Oshinowo, accused members of the House, especially its committees, of disregarding court processes.

    He contended that the continued disregard of court processes and persistent summons of chief executives of organised businesses to National Assembly was a disregard of the rule of law, and legislative rascality.

    Oshinowo singled out the House of Representatives Committees on Labour, Employment & Productivity; Steel; Telecommunications; Public Safety and National Security; Ad-Hoc  Committee  on  the   Abuse  of  Pioneer  Status   by  Companies and Ad-Hoc Committee Investigating Operational Activities of Telecommunications Equipment and Service Companies/Vendors in Nigeria, as the most guilty.

    He lamented that petitions to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, over the activities of the committees had not been addressed till date, noting that to worsen the situation, members of the committees, instead of attending to CEOs directly, chose always to act through consultants.

    He said:  “All efforts at exploring the avenue of dialogue, advocacy and lobbying as evidenced through our several correspondences to the House and submissions at hearings and visits to the National Assembly seem to have been ineffective in protecting the economic rights and interest of businesses in this environment.”

    Oshinowo said the legislators only listen to themselves and have become law unto themselves. “Therefore, we are left with no option but to seek judicial solace to protect enterprise rights and provide some reliefs to businesses by staving off  the negative attitude of the legislators.

    “Despite on-going court processes, organised businesses are still being inundated with torrents of summons/invitations and requests from the House of Representatives. Recently, the afore-mentioned committees have been very active in their disregard of court processes.

    “In one instance, a company is currently being hounded with invitations from about seven committees of the House of Representatives on issues they could ordinarily have sorted out with regulatory institutions that supervise activities in that sector of the economy,” he said.

    Oshinowo said NECA expects speaker of the House of Representatives, who is a lawyer himself, and by extension, all the committees and adhoc committees within the House of Representatives and the Clerk of the National Assembly, among others, who are all restrained by the sub-judice status of this case to exercise caution until the determination of the matter.

    Oshinowo said: “We are even taken aback by the House Committees’ non respect for its own Standing Order IX Rule 5 on rules of debate, which provides as follows: “Reference shall not be made to any matter on which a judicial decision is pending, in such a way as might in the speaker’s opinion prejudice the interest of parties thereto”

  • Reps hail Ambode’s schools’ projects

    Reps hail Ambode’s schools’ projects

    House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and other Services has praised  Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for providing  infrastructure in schools.

    The projects, the committee said, were impacting on quality education delivery.

    The committee’s Chairman, Zakari Muhammed, spoke during a visit to the office of the deputy governor at Alausa, Ikeja yesterday.

    He said the committee was on an inspection of projects executed under the State Universal Basic Education Projects (SUBEB) across the country.

    He expressed the committee’s satisfaction with the quality of materials used in most of the schools in Lagos, noting that sustainable growth in education can only be achieved when conducive learning environment is provided.

    Specifically, he commended the government for the use of metal windows and other quality materials in all the schools visited.

    He said metal windows apart from providing good ventilation for pupils also are durable.

    He urged other states to borrow a leaf from the state government by using quality materials.

    The chairman called on the  government to facilitate access to the remaining funds meant for the state from the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) budget.

    He assured that the committee would assist the state government to access the fund having satisfied that the funds allocated to the state for SUBEB projects were judiciously utilised.

    The Deputy Governor Dr Idiat Adebule said the state being the Centre of Excellence would offer the best education in line with the vision of becoming a model for Africa.

    She assured the committee that the Ambode administration would continue to implement quality educational programmes that will make the education in the state rank among the best in the world.

     

  • Reps to probe TCN over $2b foreign loans

    Reps to probe TCN over $2b foreign loans

    The House of Representatives will investigate $2 billion foreign loans which the state-owned Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) may have raised without official approval.

    The investigation could be a blow to efforts to improve Nigeria’s creaking power infrastructure, which is often blamed for hobbling growth in Africa’s largest economy.

    The Federal Government privatised most of its power sector in 2013 but retained control of the dilapidated monopoly grid operator,  TCN.

    A member of the House, Hon Simon Arabo, said in a motion that the TCN had borrowed $1.5 billion from the World Bank and other international lenders without securing the approval of the National Assembly as required by the law.

    He described the grid operator’s contract processes as opaque and may have violated procurement laws.

    Arabo did not name the other lenders but said TCN is currently negotiating another loan of $500 million with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

    Lawmakers agreed to investigate the activities of the TCN over the past 10 years in respect of foreign loans and contract awards and to report their findings within eight weeks.

    A TCN spokesman did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment neither did the World Bank.

    Reuters was unable to reach the IDB for comments outside of normal business hours by a telephone number and email address listed on its website.

    The ailing power infrastructure means blackouts are common across Africa’s most populous country, forcing many businesses and households to run costly fuel generators. If the country’s power plants were to operate at full tilt, the fragile transmission network would not be able to handle the load.

    President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to increase power capacity exponentially during his four-year term and to meet the demands of Nigeria’s more than 180 million people entirely within a decade.

  • Over N34bn unpaid taxes discovered by Reps

    Over N34bn unpaid taxes discovered by Reps

    Over N34 billion unpaid taxes have been discovered by the House  Ad-hoc Committee investigating the abuse of Pioneer Status Incentives granted by the Federal Government.

    From findings of the Jonathan Gaza-headed committee through documents provided by the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), the total figure is from default by 29 companies between 2010 and 2015.

    At the hearing at the weekend, the disparity between the total amount of taxes paid by the companies in the records with the committee and that submitted by the FIRS made the committee call for an immediate reconciliation of the tax records of the invited companies and the FIRS.

    The FIRS documents show that a company, which manufactures premier feedmill/animal feeds and made total turnover of N237,257,192,713 between 2010 and 2016, defaulted in the payment of  N11,862,859,635.65 taxes.

    The company BagCo Morpack with a turnover of N4.219 billion between 2011 and 2012 instead of paying N410,196,550, as recorded against it by FIRS, paid N217,249,512.44 VAT and also failed to provide financial statements.

    Another company, Golden Penny Rice Limited, with N13,129,379,000 turnover in 2013  ( which should have paid N756,468,950)  paid N25,000 VAT with an unpaid balance of balance of N656,468,950.

    Celplas Industries Nigeria Ltd, with N6,933,152,474 turnover, paid only N129,893,493 against total tax of N346,657,623.70.  Thai Farm International Ltd which had N1,592,071,356 turnover between 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015 did not pay N79,603,567.80 VAT;

    The representative of Bagco Morpack Nigeria Limited and Premier Feed Mills Company Ltd, Joseph Umolu, while speaking before the lawmakers said Bagco Morpack Limited was incorporated in 2006, applied for PSI on the 1st August, 2008.

    According  to him, two years extension was granted the company even though it requested for three years PSI.

    The company, he disclosed invested N2.4 billion into upgrading of facilities and produces 32 million sacks per month with all taxes duly paid.

    Umolu said the new investment was the reason the company was granted the two year extension in order to enable the use of local raw materials and that they had no significant savings.

    He said the alleged N11.863 billion unpaid tax between 2010 and 2016, couldn’t have been feasible as the company only saved over N320 million during the period under review.

    But members of the committee wanted to know why the company failed to file its financial statement in line with financial regulations requirements.

    Gaza, while addressing the  companies representatives at the hearing, said : “We are not going to hesitate from recommending recovery of every penny not paid. That you can take to the bank.”

    Gaza,  in a precious engagement with the beneficiaries of the PSI, noted that there were allegations that the scheme was riddled with corruption and said the committee was determined to “unravel every iota of corruption that is making the country we love so much to bleed.”

    He expressed concern over the huge amount of unpaid taxes by the beneficiary companies, adding that any of the companies and public officials involved in the illegal extension of the PSI would be handed over to relevant anti-corruption agencies for prosecution and recovery of the taxes due to government.

  • Leave the Senators, Reps alone now

    If an independent commission sets a miserable N18,000 as Minimum wage to pay the Majority, then the Senators, like the Gods, Are Not to Blame

    book about how Dr. Goodluck Jonathan got to be president is to be launched this month. It’s titled: On a Platter of Gold. I would have titled it: Goodluck’s Run of Luck, or something. Because on a platter of gold is the best phrase to capture how Umaru Yar’Adua obtained to the presidency. Upon being sworn in as president after all that went before (do read my piece “PMB please forgive them” for the details), Yar’Adua announced to the world that the process of his emergence was flawed. So, the earnest expectation of the conclusion of that statement was: The process of my emergence was flawed and so I’m calling for fresh elections/… and so I’m stepping aside/… and so I’m bowing out altogether.

    Did he say or do any of these? Not At All. Rather he even secretly vowed to himself to die on the seat of power. And he did.

    One southern governor, sworn in May 2007, remained in office till 2012, then elections were conducted. He went to the courts, got a court order and restrained INEC from including his state when conducting governorship elections nationwide in 2011, as scheduled. His projection had been to remain in office till August last year 2016, if possible even till now, if not for one aggrieved Adamawa governorship aspirant whose state was in a similar predicament.

    He appealed to the Supreme Court. Only then could INEC conduct elections; in fact the Supreme Court averred that the southern governor as well as four other governors should have vacated their seats before May 29 the previous year.

    So what concerns these two with Senators’ salaries? Everything, trust me, and here is the reason why.

    Firstly you can imagine there would be fear for one to even cast a headline like this, against popular opinion, thus putting oneself at risk of being dismissed outright. But if you have read this far, it would be great if you would follow me right through onto a logical conclusion.

    The Senators are reportedly paid about thirty nine million naira as monthly salary, with the House of Representatives members take home coming close on the mark.

    And I’m saying we should leave them alone. You might wonder,

    maybe I ‘have’ someone there, so I am ‘benefitting’ from their jumbo pay. Or don’t I know the former CBN governor Sanusi had said that one quarter of the nation’s revenue goes to maintaining just the lawmakers?

    1. It might interest you to know that I am a broadcast journalist by profession; I am a Newscaster (pictured). One cardinal component of the salary in this profession is the Wardrobe Allowance. This obtains universally for obvious reasons. But may I let you know I have NEVER been paid even “SKIRT” Allowance, not “BLOUSE” Allowance, before we even talk of Wardrobe Allowance! Never, not once, and none of my colleagues have either except those old school broadcasters who enjoyed in the early days. It was just 2 weeks ago Alhaji Lai Mohammed called for a return to a Media Salary Scale.

    Or the Hardship Allowance! A couple of weeks back  Nigerians saw and heard how soldiers assaulted, brutalized and maimed journalists right inside their own NUJ building in Abia State and called that a Python Dance. What could be harder and more risky than my job? But the day hasn’t dawned yet in which Hardship Allowance is paid.

    I still say to leave the Senators alone. There are places to beam that searchlight on and one of those is the payment of multiple pensions to former political office holders. Individually, this is in megabucks, monthly. These people all draw from the common purse, it’s just that their style is “Chop and Clean Mouth” .

    Take for instance the person who has called the National Assembly members “a gang of unarmed robbers”. This same person draws multimillions in multiple salaries. I call it Mega Jumbo Pay. The payment made to that entire ilk is a great drain on our commonwealth. I daresay the cumulative pay of one of them alone can pay 10 Senators a month.

    Multiple pay to those people like Chief Obasanjo is not only duplicitous; it is underhanded and also fraudulent.  The act constitutes a crime against all the youths and workers of Nigeria.

    People rush to crucify the ex-governors who ‘make’ laws’ for their exit into a life of luxury. This, to be paid for by their then impoverished states. But I tell you they only learnt from their masters, OBJ being master of the game! He draws from the army, from the state and federal governments, and from being a former president. Not satisfied, he THEN makes a ‘law’ that all past heads of state are to have an official association ‘Council of State’ and be paid MORE multi-millions even for giving more of their vacuous ideas. The shallow reasoning of these demagogues is what has put Nigeria in our retrogressive state.

    The thing with the senators reduces to this everlasting truth by Publius Syrus: Nemo judex in causa sua. It’s a Latin phrase that means, literally “No-one should be a Judge in his own Case”.

    Yar’Adua knew he was rigged in, did he leave? No.

    That southern governor knew he was pushing 5 years on a 4 year mandate, did he say Ah ah, my time is up? No way. Walk away from all that sugar being rubbed on his lips? Not possible! It just must be another to say TIME UP. And it is they, the umpires that we need to take to task. If the RMAFC, Revenue Mobilization, Allocation & Fiscal Commission (an independent national body) sets and maintains a most miserable N18,000 monthly minimum wage to pay the majority; and then sets 40 million monthly minimum for some others – then Senators, like the Gods, Are Not to Blame*.

    The umpires are.

    So much so that even if the Senators set their own pay, and they get paid while others are owed – the blame still lies with the umpires who are the ones charged with that responsibility. They are paid to do it, but they abdicate their duties. Senators don’t go to the treasury to grab the money there, and share amongst themselves. It is paid them.

    So clearly the umpires are the ones we should hold to account. Not the Reps; NOT the Senators.

    Short and simple – the members of the RMAFC should be dismissed and replaced. With rapid speed. And that’s my take.

     

    • The Gods Are Not To Blame is an African classic by Zulu Sofola. 07055547031 sms or whatsapp.
  • Reps, ACF, Clark, others demand enquiry, fair hearing

    Reps, ACF, Clark, others demand enquiry, fair hearing

    Ijaw national leader, Chief Edwin Clark, wants President Muhammadu Buhari to set up a commission of inquiry to investigate the allegations made by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr.Ibe Kachikwu, against the Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr.Maikanti Baru.
    On the same page with him are the Secretary of the Itsekiri Leaders of Thought (ILoT), Sir Amorighoye Sunny Mene, and the Convener of the influential South-South Reawakening Group (SSRG), Joseph Ambakederemo.
    Although the apex Northern socio-cultural group, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), a former Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Leyii Kwanee, and some members of the House of Representatives  are  not categorical in demanding a commission of enquiry, they say the issue should be thoroughly investigated and the two sides given fair hearing.
    They were all responding yesterday to the crisis of confidence between Kachikwu and Baru.
    Both men were at the Presidential Villa yesterday on the matter.
    The Minister of State met with President Buhari while Baru consulted with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
    Kachikwu had in a letter to Buhari accused Baru of bypassing him and the NNPC board in taking crucial decisions including the alleged award of a $25 billion contract without due process.
    Clark said: “I think Mr President should look into the whole matter. This is like what they call ‘corruption fighting back’. He should set up a committee of inquiry to look into the allegations made by the minister.
    “Those he accused are now fighting back. They are now using the EFCC to fight him back.
    “I have also been seeing some articles written by some Northerners. It’s not a fight between
    Kachikwu and the North, but between the North and the South.
    “People should place Nigeria first and not self first. It’s very disturbing to read that people are writing articles, maligning Kachikwu, a very intelligent man, that he should be sacked and so on.
    “This is very upsetting and Mr. President must step in, otherwise there’ll be problem. If Kachikwu should be removed, who next?
    Mr. President should step in immediately and take over the situation, with no due regard to any
    person, no matter how close to him.”
    Mene was particularly irked by the NNPC appointments.
    He said: “The NNPC appointments did not take care of the sensitivity of the
    people of the Niger Delta.
    “The problem of this country, right from the independence is lack of balancing.
    “Whenever you do not do proper balancing in appointments, in any arm of the federal government, it leads to crisis and we are tending towards another crisis.
    “We are strongly urging the President to quickly intervene in this matter before it degenerates into another round of agitation and crisis in the Niger Delta.”
    The Convener of the SSRG, Ambakederemo, said no blame or
    judgment should be apportioned until due diligence is done.
    According to him, “let us not run to conclusions yet because we have
    only heard from one side.
    “We’re yet to hear from the Group Managing Director of the NNPC
    “We should not rush to the gallery to make untoward comments.
    “We’re not living in the jungle; we must follow due process. Allegation has
    come from one side, I expect the President to put up a team to look
    at the matter, hearing also from the GMD.
    “My advice is that Mr President should tread carefully on this issue.
    Look at the issues involved, hear from the other party, if possible
    set up a committee to look at the issues raised.
    “Like I said, we must expect squabbles like this from a big institution like the NNPC and
    Ministry of Petroleum Resources. They must always come.”
    A former Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Leyii Kwanee, said that the matter must not be swept under the carpet.
    He suggested an independent investigation similar to the one that probed the allegations against the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, an engineer.
    “The Kachikwu/Baru matter must be thrown open for thorough investigation and never to be swept under the carpet, in order to serve as a deterrent to others. Nigerians are looking unto President Buhari at this critical moment,” he said by phone.
    Some members of the House of Representatives also bared their minds on the matter in separate interviews with The Nation.
    Hon. Ajibola Famurewa, APC member representing Atakunmosa East and West/Ilesha East, Osun State asked Baru to explain the source of his power to award such contacts without the approval of the board.”
    He added:” I want the President to fully investigate the matter. Anybody can lay an allegation against anybody. Let Baru now come out and say why he did that if truly he awarded the contracts.
    Hon. Babatunde Kolawole representing Akoko South-West/ East, Ondo State said: “We have relevant legislations and regulations that guide the operations of the office of the GMD and Minister of State.
    “I believe Kachikwu did the right thing by complaining to the President in the letter over how the process for the award of such huge contracts was breached, especially in a government that is fighting corruption.”
    Hon.Tajudeen Yusuf, PDP Kogi, Kabba/ Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency, said the alleged $25 billion contract was an opportunity for the APC- led government to prove its seriousness about the fight against corruption.
    His words: “It’s simple. The President should call in the relevant agencies, look at their books to ascertain the authenticity of the allegations, get credible hands to do it.
    “And I think the National Assembly too will not fail in its responsibility to look at the books to know who and who is culpable.
    The apex Northern socio-cultural group, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), said Kachikwu and Baru should be given fair hearing.
    ACF National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim Biu, told The Nation that the allegations raised against the NNPC GMD were very grave and should be thoroughly investigated by the Presidency to unravel the facts.
    ACF, however, commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s intervention in the matter as timely and most appropriate.
    He said: “The issues raised in the alleged letter to the President by the Minister of Petroleum on allegations of unilateral awards of contract by GMD NNPC and other acts of insubordination are very grave and need to be thoroughly investigated by the Presidency to know the facts.
    “Therefore, the intervention of President Buhari in the matter as we read in the newspapers is most appropriate and timely.
    “We hope the GMD and the Minister would be given fair hearing so that Nigerians will know the facts. Thereafter, the President should do the needful” he said.
    Ex-President General Ndokwa Neku Union (NNU), Mr. Paul Enebeli said President Buhari’s anti-corruption stance would be irretrievably tarnished if the matter was swept under the carpet.
    He asked the President to use the opportunity provided by the current situation to holistically examine other federal ministries as it may be symptomatic of the rot in crucial sectors of the economy.
    Enebeli said it was more worrying that Kachukwu was unable to have access to the President, despite his position in an industry that plays a crucial role in the national economy.
    He said the allegations are grave and should be investigated, adding that if unchecked, it could send wrong signals to the Ndokwa Neku Union (NNU) is the umbrella socio-cultural organisation of the Ndokwa nation in Delta State.