NG News: Senate in crisis as PTDF review panellists resign
By Emmanuel Aziken
Posted to the Web: Wednesday, March 21, 2007
- x Vanguard -
*El-Rufai, Ita-Giwa, Osuntokun deny complicity
ABUJA — ALL seven members of the Senate ad-hoc committee on the review of the Senate investigations into the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) unexpectedly resigned their appointments yesterday to protest alleged efforts by the Senate leadership to dilute their report.
The resignations of the members conveyed in a letter dated March 20, 2007, allegedly followed persistent pressure from the Senate President that the Committee present an advance copy of its report to the Senate leadership for vetting.
The instruction of the Senate President reportedly followed pressure on him from the Presidency to intervene and save President Olusegun Obasanjo from the odium of an indictment by the review panel.
But the Presidency dismissed reports that it wanted to suppress the probe panel report in anyway. Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs, Chief Akin Osuntokun, said it made no sense that the presidency would attempt to suppress a matter already in public domain.
Minister in the Presidency in Charge of the Federal Capital Development Authority, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, also denied involvement in the saga. According to him, "it is absurd and absolute nonsense for anybody to link my name and that of EFCC chairman to any attempt to suppress the report of an independent body like the Senate, a report that is ready and in public domain that has even been presented to party leadership to deliberate upon.
"This is another desperate attempt by crooks and criminals to confuse the intelligent body of senators and the ordinary Nigerians over their criminal activities.
"I deny with every emphasis at my disposal that I am not involved in any effort to suppress the report. It is just another imagination of crooked minds to blame somebody else for their criminal acts," he said.
The report of the Committee, Vanguard gathered, which was ready for presentation yesterday morning had indicted President Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar for their roles in the whole PTDF saga.
The indictment of the President contradicted that of the original PTDF Committee headed by Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN).
In the letter to the President of the Senate, the Review Committee members said they were resigning for what they called the indecision of the Senate leadership on the timing of the presentation of the report.
The Senate is expected to go on election break today or tomorrow paving the way for the report to be swept under the carpet.
Committee members that were contacted last night were in rage that the leadership had taken them for a ride and about destroying their own individual reputations. “The report is ready but he (Nnamani) wants it because he said he wanted to look through it and make his own input but we are never going to allow him,” a Committee member said last night.
Their letter to the Senate President:
The President of the Senate,
Senate Chambers,
Abuja
Sir,
RE: RESIGNATION FROM SENATE REVIEW COMMITTEE ON PTDF
We wish to inform the leadership that the review Committee set up by the Senate to review the report of the Ad-Hoc Committee on the PTDF concluded its report as scheduled.
However, considering the fact that the leadership is not certain about the time it would want the report to be presented, we, members of the Review Committee hereby respectfully resign our membership.
We remain grateful for the honour of consideration to serve.
The chairman, Senator Umaru Tsauri, and all other members, namely Senators Timothy Adudu, Sa‘ad Mohammed, John Azuta-Mbata, Akin Olasunkanmi, Chris Adighije and Bello Maitama Yusuf signed the letter which was delivered to the President of the Senate last night.
Vanguard gathered that the Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani had directly requested the Committee members to present their prepared report to him during a breakfast meeting in his house yesterday.
The Committee members, it was learnt, had demurred leading to a request by its chairman, Senator Umaru Tsauri for an extension of time at the Senate plenary session yesterday.
In appealing for extension of time, Senator Tsauri had noted “another revelation which completely affects our report and therefore on behalf of the Committee, appealing that we will bring the report any time from now.”
In suggesting another revelation, it was generally interpreted that he referred to the allegation by Otunba Oyewole Fasawe that President Obasanjo paid N700 million into the MOFAS account used in funding the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
His request was met with a general uproar in the Senate. The Senate leader, Dr. Dalhatu Tafida, was to add to the confusion when he said the report would be presented as “soon as possible.”
Responding to the agitation on the floor, Chief Nnamani said the leadership wanted the Committee to do a “thorough job because we will not have another review.”
He had, in total disregard of the chorus against the postponement, waved the issue away as he ruled that the Senate progress with its deliberation for the day.
However, sources close to the Senate President said Chief Nnamani was under tremendous pressure from the presidency on the issue.
Senator Florence Ita-Giwa and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai were alleged to be the point persons of the presidency working to suppress the report and had reportedly recruited the EFCC boss in pilling pressure on the Senate leadership.
Senator Ita-Giwa in an interview with Vanguard last night, however, denied any role in the pressure to kill the report, affirming that she was expected to observe proceedings on the deliberation of the report.
She said: “Did we kill the report by Ndoma-Egba? So why would I kill this one. You saw me in the gallery when Ndoma-Egba report was presented and I am also going to be in the gallery when this report will be presented.”
Denying any role in the efforts to suppress the report, she said: “I am not in the Senate. I don’t have anything to do with the report. I am an adviser to the President. I don’t advise the Senate.”
Asked if she met with Committee members yesterday, she said: “Members of the Committee, I am told, were working until about 2.00 a.m. and so I don’t think I went near that Committee area.”
The Senate is expected to go on election break today or tomorrow.
Earlier at a press briefing, Senator Jonathan Zwingina, Deputy Senate Leader, refused to comment on the general disquiet regarding the development.
“I think that the right person to ask is the chairman of the Committee because he and his members are working very hard and I know that as late as yesterday they were taking submissions,’ he said, adding: “Don’t forget we are not setting up any other Committee. So, this is going to be the final Committee.
As soon as they finish, we are ready for them. If they finish today and they bring it tomorrow fine. Whenever they are ready, the Senate is ready. Nobody can keep a Senate report waiting.’’
Also contacted yesterday, Chief Osuntokun said the Presidency had no reason to want to kill the review committee report.
He said: “It does not make sense. It was a public hearing, an investigation. I find it ridiculous that anybody would suggest that we want to suppress the report. What is there to suppress? What did Fasawe say other than the usual scandal mongering? I think it would embarrass him (Fasawe) more than anybody else.
“How do you suppress a public hearing? Does it make sense? It was done in the open. Anybody making that kind of suggestion does not know the meaning of suppression," he said.
AI
