For ignoring summons by the Nigerian Senate’s Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition, the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, among others, risk arrest.
This is even as the Senate has threatened to issue warrants of arrest due to their alleged repeated failure to respond to invitations.
Also to face arrest are the Chief Executives of several other public agencies. These include Union Homes Savings and Loans Plc, Enugu Electricity Distribution Company and Sally Best Properties Limited.
This was disclosed by the Senate President Godswill Akpabio during last Wednesday’s plenary.
The Senate President gave the directive for the issuance of arrest warrants following a request by Senator Neda Imasuen (LP – Edo South), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions.
Senator Imasuen had expressed frustration over the consistent refusal of these agency heads to appear before the Committee.
The Senator noted that the Chief Executives need to appear at the Committee to address petitions filed by aggrieved Nigerians and corporate entities against them.
Citing Order 42 of the Senate’s Standing Rules, Imasuen highlighted the agencies’ disregard for multiple invitations to defend the petitions lodged against them.
Imasuen, therefore, requested the Senate to mandate his Committee to issue warrant of arrests against the recalcitrant heads of the affected institutions.
However, being a request made through personal explanation, the Senate President granted it.
He said, “You already have the power as provided for by Section 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution. Please use it by issuing warrant of arrest against any head of agency refusing to appear before the Public Petition Committee.
“The appearance of the invited heads of agencies before the Committee is very important for justice and fairness on issues raised against them in the petitions before the Senate through the Public Petitions Committee.”
Imasuen after the plenary told journalists that the list of the affected agencies would be released at the appropriate time.
However, on Sunday, he stated that fresh letters of invitations have been sent to the heads of the affected agencies.
Imasuen said “Fresh letters of invitations have been sent to heads of the affected agencies. Following which, warrant of arrests would be issued if any one of them fails to appear.”
He added that his Committee would this week, expeditiously consider a petition against JAMB by Onyebuchi Obioha.
He noted that Obioha submitted a petition alleging the withholding of her daughter’s result by the JAMB. The petition alleged that JAMB acted based on a ‘vindictive report written against her by one of the examination supervisors.’
source: The Nation
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