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Senators want EFCC, ICPC to probe el-Rufai
Soji-Eze Fagbemi and Taiwo Adisa, Abuja - 22.01.2009

The Senate on Wednesday began debate on the report of its Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Housing on the investigation of the administration of the FCT from 1999 to 2007.


The committee recommended that a former minister, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, be investigated for economic crimes by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).


Besides, it recommended that the former minister be barred from holding public office because “he is not a fit and proper person to hold public office in a democratic set-up in future.”


Presenting the report to the Senate on Wednesday, chairman of the committee, Senator Abubakar Sodangi, told the upper chamber that after assessing the activities of el-Rufai in his duties as minister of FCT, “we came to the inevitable conclusion that he should account for all funds collected by the ad-hoc bodies he raised during his tenure.”


The committee also stated that the house he allocated to himself, where he signed as lessor and lessee, be revoked as it said a person could not sell an item to himself.


The committee said “the appropriate government agencies should investigate Mallam Nasir el-Rufai for economic crimes and abuse of office in revoking and re-allocating lands to his wives and family members even when the lands were on waterlines or sewer line.”


Reacting, counsel for el-Rufai, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, criticised the Senate for debating the report of its committee which probed the former minister, saying the decision was in contravention of the rule of law.


Aturu, in a statement on Wednesday, said the decision to debate the report of the committee, even when a suit was pending in a court, was in violation of the rules of the Senate