$3m bribery scandal: Tambuwal snubs IG

*Lawan’s interrogation continues today

Apparently aware of surreptitious moves to rope him in the $3m bribery scam ravaging the House of Representatives’ ad hoc committee on fuel subsidy regime, the Speaker, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, may have decided to distance himself from the $620, 000 bribe money.

His decision to stay clear of the issue comes in the aftermath of a letter written to him by the Acting Inspector- General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, requesting the House leadership to facilitate the retrieval of the marked dollars from the suspended lawmaker and chairman of the probe committee, Farouk Lawan.

In the letter, which was reportedly delivered personally by the head of Police Special Task Force, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ali Ahmadu, the IG was said to have requested that the money be handed over today.

However, National Mirror sources disclosed that the Speaker was amazed at the insistence of the police that he should facilitate the release of the money from Lawan.

The Speaker was said to have asked the police to treat the matter professionally and deal directly with Lawan rather than involving the entire House.

“The Speaker can smell a rat. If not, why are they asking him to get the money for them when they (police) have all the wherewithal to make Lawan produce the money? Obviously, that should not be the responsibility of the Speaker.

“In fact, he has asked them to deal with Lawan as an individual and that it is not his responsibility to help in retrieving the dollars,” said the source.

This is not the first time that Tambuwal would shun such request.

He had reportedly rebuffed earlier entreaties from the State Security Service, SSS, to help with the same task.

Before Lawan was detained last week, the Speaker had been invited by the SSS to watch the video of the $3m bribery scandal after which he was requested to retrieve the money from the embattled lawmaker.

National Mirror also learnt yesterday that the lawmaker’s problem has been compounded by the refusal of his fellow lawmakers from Kano State to support him.

When the ad hoc committee was inaugurated in February, the Kano State caucus in the House was said to have met with Lawan, advising him to tread with caution since the assignment was a very sensitive one.

The caucus was said to have pleaded with him not to bungle the assignment by way of bending to partisan party considerations. “That explains why he started on a very right footing and why frontline lawyers like Femi Falana and Olisa Agbakoba decided to support the committee’s work and even make presentations before it,” said a source.

The source added that a member of the caucus had at the weekend raised the possibility of meeting with the IG to secure bail for Lawan but that majority of the caucus members were vehemently opposed to such a move, arguing that the lawmaker must be left to prove his innocence or face the law.

Indications also emerged yesterday that some sympathisers of three former speakers of the House have resolved to ensure that the lawmaker pays for his “sins”.

According to a former member of the House, who would not want his name mentioned, Lawan was instrumental to the impeachment or created problems for former speakers Salisu Buhari, Aminu Masari and Patricia Etteh.

“This is nemesis catching up with him. The man (Lawan) has done a lot in that place. He has been there since the advent of democracy in 1999 and he has often been part of the various scheming in the House. For instance, he cannot swear not to have been privy to the disgraceful exit of some of the past leaders of the House.

“You will recall his role during the ‘Etteh-must-go’ saga. I think this is nemesis. If not, why is it that virtually all his friends and even committee members seem to have abandoned him,” the source queried.

Lawan is slated to appear before the police today in continuation of interrogation into the incident.

Although one of the conditions reportedly attached to his bail is that he would hand the money over to the police today or to Speaker Tambuwal for onward delivery to the police, it is yet unclear if he will submit the money as demanded.

Meanwhile, the House yesterday said the report of the Ad hoc Committee on fuel subsidy is sacrosanct despite the bribery scandal involving the former Chairman of the committee, Lawan.

The Deputy Leader of the House, Hon. Leo Ogor, made this known in an interview with one of our correspondent.

Ogor, who represents Isoko Federal Constituency of Delta State, said the controversial report is revered and sacred. He said the leadership of the House would strive to ensure a thorough investigation of the probe report and bring those indicted to book.

He said: “The report of the ad hoc committee on subsidy regime is a product of the House and the House will defend it. The committee of the whole House approved the report and that makes the report our property.

“The House at any given time will definitely defend the report. We are urging Nigerians to look at the message and not the messengers. There is a great message in the report, which Nigerians should be proud of.

“The House should be separated from individuals. We should separate our institutions rather than individualising our institutions. There are levels of challenges associating with individualising institutions. The House has an in-built mechanism to regulate and expose itself. We are not ready to compromise anything.

“The agenda of the House is accountability and due process, which is our focus. The House is beginning the review of Nigeria as a nation. We may have one or two challenges but the leadership is operating within specific mandate. The system is prepared to eliminate sharp practices within the system and bring the perpetrators to account for the sins,” he added.

Ogor insisted that Lawan is on his own in the controversy surrounding the probe of the subsidy report.

It will be recalled that Lawan had on Monday admitted that he collected $500,000 from the Chairman of Zenon Oil and Gas, Mr. Femi Otedola, before the final report on the fuel subsidy probe was submitted to the full House.


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