Senate Committee probing the alleged extra budgetary spending by the Federal Government intervention agency, the Niger Delta Development Commission ( NDDC) on Friday, failed to convene its session on the ongoing investigation.
Checks revealed that the Senate had recently set up an adhoc Committee to investigate the 2021, 2022 and 2023 budgets of the NDDC budgets that were implemented without the approval of the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, immediate past Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and Senator-elect, Akwa Ibom North West, Godswill Akpabio, had surfaced at the National Assembly on the heels of the invitation of the Chairman of the adhoc Committee, Senator Yusuf Yusuf, investigating the budgets of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Senator Akpabio, who was accompanied by members of the Senate Stability Group pushing for his emergence as President of the 10th Senate, told journalists that he came to appear before the Senator Yusuf Committee.
He said: “I received a call late last night from the chairman of the committee to appear by 10 am today and as a law abiding citizen and respecter of the parliament, I am here to honour the invitation, but unfortunately, Senator Yusuf and other members of the committee are not around for over three and half hours now.
“I was required to bring certain documents relating to the investigation of the Ad Hoc Committee on NDDC budgets. I honoured the invitation with both serving and incoming colleagues of mine. But unfortunately, we have been here for over 3 hours without any member of the Ad-Hoc Committee here at the chairman’s office,” he said.
According to the former Senate Minority Leader, “luckily we got Senator Yusuf on the phone, and he confirmed that today being Friday, members must have gone to the mosque while some would have traveled out of Abuja and a new date would be fixed.”
Akpabio, who explained that he also spoke with other members of the investigative committee, noted that he would always accord the parliament the deserved respect.
“I got other members of the committee like Senator Uche Ekwunife, who said she is not aware of the invitation as all investigative activities have been concluded. As a legislator, I will always accord the parliament all respect when invited to appear.
“Let me also place it on record that even as we speak, I am yet to get a hard copy of the invitation, but I have to respect the authority of our National Assembly. I learnt that the House of Representatives had since passed the three budgets in question and that there was no decision to invite me as a former minister that resigned from the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs almost a year ago. I was only a supervising minister for NDDC exercising delegated authority over an agency in the ministry.”
The former Governor, however, promised to honour any parliamentary summons in any form as a mark of respect for an institution he had served as a leader in time past.
Among members of the Stability Group that accompanied the Senate Presidential hopeful were Senator Isah Jubrin, vice Chairman Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Ibrahim Bomai, Senator-elect Shuaib Afolabi Salisu, Senator-elect Wasiu Eshinlokun, Senator-Elect Abdulaziz Yar’dua, Senator-elect Mutari Dan Dutse, Senator-elect Titus Zam, Senator Ikra Bilbis and Senator-elect Darlington Nwokocha.
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