Politics
Faroukgate: Another Political Legacy?
Since the beginning of the Fourth Republic in Nigeria in 1999, the country had been exposed to various events at different levels of governance that unarguably qualify to be recorded as part of its legacy. More so when these events have to do with any arm of government, none the least the legislature, which should rightly be at the driver’s seat of governance.
One of such events is the on-going $3 million bribery scandal in the fuel subsidy probe involving Hon. Farouk Lawan, Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on the probe of the fuel subsidy regime, and oil magnate, Femi Otedola, which has been christened “Faroukgate”.
As a major allegation on corruption in the National Assembly, Faroukgate has become one too many of such ignoble corruption cases seemingly being perpetrated in the First Estate of the Realm. There appears to be this persistent stench of corruption oozing from the National Assembly, particularly the House of Representatives in every given legislative year.
In fact, it is such that since the return of democratic rule in 1999, no dispensation has successfully ended without an awful event breaking out from the Green Chambers. Worst is the fact that the events are not palatable. If it does not bother on issues of certificate forgery, it is a bribery scandal or outright embezzlement of public funds which never got investigated beyond news breaks.
Beyond the thrills and frills that it affords the media which furnishes the populace of goings-on, these issues have continued to raise questions about the integrity and or maturity of those elected as lawmakers in Nigeria. Surprisingly, it started with the very first leadership of the House in the present political dispensation.
Hardly had the House been formally inaugurated in 1999 than the case of certificate forgery by the then Speaker, Alhaji Salisu Buhari erupted. The issue dragged on for some time before the Speaker was finally shoved aside. From then on, Buhari grew cold and lost his voice. To a considerable extent, it was not only his constituency that was brutally assaulted and embarrassed.
The integrity of the House and the country at large was also affected. Expectedly, there were rhetorical questions on the moral standing of the lawmaker to continue to enact laws in the “hallowed” chambers of the House. From the international perspective, Nigeria’s ability to formulate laws that could stand the test of time was also in question.
Shortly afterwards in 2007, the House boiled again. This time the protagonist was Mrs. Patricia Olubumi Etteh, the first female Nigerian Speaker of the House of Representatives. Despite making history as Nigeria’s first female speaker, Etteh, was hounded out of office over sundry allegations levelled against her and some principal officers of the House.
In September 2007, she faced a Committee of the House over accusations that she had authorised the spending of N628 million on renovations of her official residence and that of her deputy, as well as the purchase of 12 official cars. A vociferous campaign by the Integrity Group in the house eventually pushed her out of office.
Like, Buhari, the two personalities went so cold that throughout the life of that Assembly, much was not heard from them in terms of contributing to debates in the House. It was not until the twilight of that administration that Etteh briefly made headlines. She was purportedly cleared of the albatross on her neck, though this did not stamp any appreciable impact.
Alhajis Oladimeji Bankole and Usman Bayero Nafada took over as Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively, but another corruption saga soon played out. A member of the House, Dino Melaye accused Bankole of siphoning the funds of the House. To the chagrin of all, the allegation generated so much dust that there were exchanges of physical blows in the House amongst the members.
The end of that tenure saw Bankole and Nafada behind bars as they were arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and prosecuted later. Though Bankole and Nafada issue appeared controversial in the face of the ensued discrepancy between the EFCC and the court over their discharge and acquittal, most Nigerians still think that the duo will have to do more to erase the feelings of guilt and shame from the subconscious.
Similarly, Nigerians are yet to forget the circle of bribery scandal that rocked the House of Representatives in 2009 when the House set up a Committee to probe the nation’s Power sector. The Committee, headed by Ndudi Godwin Elumelu returned a damning verdict that about $16 billion spent on the sector by the Federal Government actually went down the drain.
The committee thus called for a cleansing of the sector. The Report was about to be debated when Elumelu was caught in the web of a N6 billion supplementary budget padding scam. Elumelu and Senator Nicholas Ugba, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power were eventually dragged to court after a brief detention by the EFCC.
Again, the public odium that emanated from the scandal virtually sealed the lips of Elumelu, who currently appears not to be in haste to discuss public issues. Not long ago, another member of the House of Representatives, Herman Hembe, set out in their usual over-sight function to investigate the “death” of stock exchange.
Surprisingly, a well intended and fact-finding probe ended up boomeranging on the lawmaker who was accused of being part of the rot in the system for allegedly demanding a bribe of N5 million from Otteh who was initially suspended but was last week reinstated as the Director-General of the Security Exchange Commission, SEC, though this did not go down well with majority of staff of SEC.
Hembe’s scandal had hardly died down when in the first week of June, 2012 what seemed to be the mother of all bribery scandals in the National Assembly hit the House. To a large extent, it turned out to buttress former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s accusation a week earlier that the country’s legislative arm is run by rogues who lacked integrity.
“Integrity is necessary for systems and institutions to be strong”, Obasanjo said, noting that “today rogues and armed robbers are in the State House of Assembly and National Assembly. What sort of laws would they make? The Judiciary is also corrupt. During my tenure (as President) many of the corrupt Judges were removed, some are still there”.
The news that the latest bribery scam involves Mr. Farouk Lawan, who is otherwise called “Mr. Integrity”, was one development that was extremely difficult for many people to comprehend.
Lawan , the moving spirit behind the Integrity Group that got Partricia Etteh out of office as Speaker, the smallish but intellectually sturdy man whose tiny voice smacks innocence and honesty, and who displays an admirable grasp of any issue he speaks on, was allegedly discovered to be the supreme “tax collector” in the Foroukgate scandal.
The fact that Lawan had been in the House of Representatives since the beginning of the present democratic dispensation in 1999, representing Bagwai/Shanono Federal Constituency of Kano State and had been a major factor in virtually all clean-up activities in the House intended to make it free of corruption, made it more difficult to believe.
The better part of his legislative duties had seen him heading many committees, including Finance, Education, Appropriation and subsidy probes. Some say these were compensatory measures to the roles he played in the installation of any given Speaker since the time of Bello Masari.
He is widely believed to be tipped as the next governor of Kano State come 2015. Beyond this, Lawan is also seen as the best northern candidate to vie for the Presidency in 2015.
At the heart of the present faroukgate imbroglio is Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited which was accused of collecting foreign exchange from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), but not importing any fuel. Nigerians were happy that Lawan was bold to name most dubious characters in the system that was milking the oil sector of the economy dry.
In a matter of hours, Femi Otedola, one of the oil magnates and owner of Zenon decided to let the lid open over what transpired between him and Lawan’s committee. According to him, initially, his company was amongst those black-listed to have illicitly dealt with the NNPC. But within a split of seconds, the company’s name got deleted from “the Black Book” and was cleared of all allegations by the Probes Panel. It was later to be known that a bribe of 3 million USD did the magic. The allegations and counter allegations that followed are now part of history, but like historians say, “not to learn from one’s past is to remain forever a child”.
Speaking recently on the matter, the former National Chairman of the All Nigeria Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Chekwas Okorie, “definitely, the integrity of the National Assembly has been very seriously dented, although it is more pronounced in the House of Representatives than the Senate. The Farouk (Lawan) scandal is one scandal too many. I, therefore, suggest that more serious attention be paid on that House and its members in fighting against corruption”.
In the words of Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher, “we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit”.
Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, on Monday, passed a vote of confidence in Mojisola Meranda as the Speaker of the Assembly.
The lawmakers expressed their confidence in her leadership at the plenary, which Rt Hon. Meranda presided over amidst tight security.
The Tide’s source reports that there was a growing tension at the assembly as legislative workers protested against the alleged plans to remove Rt Hon. Meranda as the Speaker of the Assembly.
The legislative workers also clashed with the operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) who, in the early hours of Monday, stormed the assembly and sealed Rt Hon. Meranda’s office alongside that of her Deputy and the Clerk.
Our source had reported how armed security personnel took over the complex at Alausa, Ikeja, leading to palpable tension among the lawmakers and workers of the assembly.
There are indications that the ongoing imbroglio at the assembly following the removal of Mudashiru Obasa as Speaker on January 13 has not abated.
The Monday’s drama came a few days after Mr Obasa, who was removed for alleged abuse of office and corruption, dragged the state lawmakers to court, challenging his removal as the Speaker of the Assembly.
There are alleged plans to return Mr Obasa as the Speaker, a development which has further heightened tension at the assembly.
The Tide’s source reports that when Meranda arrived the assembly complex amidst tight security around 11:15 am on Monday, many legislative workers showed solidarity with the first female Speaker over alleged plans to remove her.
“Meranda we want”, “Meranda We want”, the workers were chanting in a short video clip.
Rt Hon. Meranda visibly overwhelmed by emotion was surrounded by her security details amid the chaotic atmosphere.
Inside the chamber, officials of the DSS clashed with the legislative workers, leading to commotion.
The DSS officials, dressed in black jackets and helmets and armed with weapons, struggled with the workers at the door.
The Tide’s source gathered that, with support from the legislative workers, lawmakers had earlier forced their way into the chamber around 12:30 pm.
It was further gathered that Rt Hon Meranda and about 32 members were present at the plenary.
A short video clip of the plenary showed that all the lawmakers in attendance had passed a vote of confidence on Rt Hon Meranda.
“Madam Speaker, all members standing before you, I move a motion to say that we do pass the vote of confidence on Rt Hon Mojisola Lasbat Meranda”, a lawmaker said.
The motion was supported by all members in attendance.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, on Monday, traded words over the alleged killing of three persons.
Members of both parties were locked in battle for the control of some local government secretariats. While two persons were killed in Iragbiji in Boripe Local Government Area, another was killed in Irewole Local Government Area.
There had been tension across the state over the Court of Appeal judgment in respect of the sacked APC council chairmen and councillors.
While the PDP claimed that the Feb. 10 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Akure, did not reinstate the sacked APC chairmen and councillors elected in 2022, APC insisted on their return.
Speaking with journalists in Iragbiji, Korede Ajeigbe, the commissioner for government affairs and protocol, claimed that two PDP members were killed while trying to prevent APC members from taking over a secretariat.
Mr Ajeigbe also said that six PDP members were seriously injured and were currently receiving treatment in the hospital.
APC, however, alleged that PDP members attacked its members while trying to enforce the Court of Appeal judgment.
Addressing a news conference in Osogbo, Bayo Adeleke, a chieftain of the APC, claimed that one of the party’s prominent members was killed during the crisis.
He also alleged that another member of the party, Remi Omowaye, escaped an assassination attempt in Ilesa.
Mr Adeleke, a former commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs, urged the state government to allow peace to reign by allowing the APC chairmen and councillors to return to office.
Another chieftain of the party, Jamiu Olawumi, claimed that APC chairmen had resumed in 15 local governments of the state.
This claim, however, could not be immediately verified.
When contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, CSP Yemisi Opalola, said she was yet to be briefed on the alleged killings.
Ms Opalola, however, said police officers had been deployed to all the local government secretariats in the state to prevent breakdown of law and order.
Meanwhile, Gov. Ademola Adeleke has directed workers as well as politicians to stay away from local government secretariats to avoid further bloodshed.
Mr Adeleke, in a statement by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, said only security agents would be allowed to keep watch at the secretariats.
He condoled with families of victims of the crisis.
Leader of the 8th Opobo/Nkoro Legislative Assembly, Barrister Samuel Nengia, has passed a vote of confidence on the Chairman of the LGA, Dr. Enyiada Cookey-Gam, as he marked his first one hundred days in his second term in office.
Speaking with newsmen recently in Port-Harcourt on Dr Cookey-Gam and the celebration of his first one hundred days in office, among other people-oriented development projects and programmes, Nengia argued that the Chairman and his team have recorded unprecedented developmental strides, which includes infrastructure transformation, empowerment, security, human capital development, payment of the approved N85,000. 00 minimum wage to Opobo/Nkoro workers’, among others.
He pointed out that his commendation was apt as the activities of the Chairman had been monitored and discovered to reflect the expectations and yearnings of the people, especially, the promotion of council staff, the refurbishment of the Assembly Complex to standard, the construction of Corpers’ Lodge, the provision of effective transportation system for the well-being of the people in the area.
Hon. Nengia, representing Opobo/Nkoro Ward 6, averred that the people of the LGA could now sleep with their eyes closed owing to Dr Cookey-Gam’s achievements in in the security sector.
He added that the vote of confidence the Council’s number one citizen would strengthen him to deliver more democratic dividends to Opobo/Nkoro people.
He admonished Opobo/Nkoro people to rally support for the Chairman to perform creditably well for the well-being of the electorate in the area.
Meanwhile, Barr. Samuel Nengia, has thanked Governor Siminalayi Fubara for appointing three illustrious sons of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area into positions of trust vis former Commissioner for Education, Dr. Tamunosisi Gogo Jaja, as Chairman, Rivers State House of Assembly Service Commission; former Secretary of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, Engr. Edward Namiesimagha, as Chairman, Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA) and Surveyor Peter Ogolo, as Surveyor-, General of the state.
Hon. Nengia, who described the appointments as well deserved, however, enjoined the appointees to bring their leadership wealth of experience to bear in the herculean tasks of reviving their various areas of jurisdiction.
Bethel Toby