President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday said there was no
truth in widespread insinuation that his government was orchestrating the
$620,000 bribery scandal involving the Chairman of the House of
Representatives’ ad hoc committee on the fuel subsidy, Mr. Farouk Lawan, and an
oil businessman, Mr. Femi Otedola.
Jonathan said this in a statement by
his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, in Abuja.
The President’s aide described the
insinuation that the scandal was a ploy by Jonathan and the executive arm of
government to unseat the leadership of the House as “lame, diversionary, totally
false and baseless.”
Abati also told our correspondent in
an exclusive interview that despite the bribery scandal, Jonathan would not
stop the action he had already initiated on the implementation of the report of
the committee.
The President said notwithstanding
the development on the scandal, his directive to the Attorney-General of the
Federation, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN), on the report of the probe committee, as
adopted by the House, had not changed.
He said that he expected that all
those indicted in the report would be duly investigated and prosecuted if a
prima facie case of misconduct was established against them.
The presidential statement reads,
“The Presidency denounces the lame and diversionary attempt by some newspapers
to drag the person and office of the President into the very unsavoury bribery
scandal involving the Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Fuel Subsidy
Probe Ad Hoc Committee and a well-known petroleum products marketer.
“The mischievous insinuation in
today’s editions of the newspapers that the entire affair, in which the two key
players have publicly confessed their roles, is part of a plot by President
Goodluck Jonathan and the executive arm of government to unseat the leadership
of the House of Representatives, is totally false and baseless.
“For the benefit of unwary members of
the public who may be deceived by the political innuendoes now being woven into
the subsidy probe bribe affair, President Jonathan wishes to affirm that he has
absolutely no reason or desire to meddle in the affairs of the House of
Representatives and its leadership.
“Neither the President nor anyone
acting on his request or order has anything to do with the scandal that has
sadly engulfed the House ad hoc committee on fuel subsidy. The attempt to drag
the Presidency into the matter is entirely speculative and without factual
foundation.
“Against the background of its avowed
commitment to the effective prosecution of the war against corruption in
Nigeria, the Presidency notes with satisfaction that given the seriousness of
the scandal, the House of Representatives has already recalled its members from
recess for a special session to deliberate on it tomorrow.”
The House on Wednesday sent notice
out to its members to report for an emergency session on Friday (today). Though
the notice sent by the Clerk of the House, Mohammed Sani-Omolori, did not
specify the agenda for the session, some members said that the bribery scandal would be the
main subject for debate.
The fear has been expressed in some
quarters that the bribery scandal currently rocking the probe panel would make
Jonathan to push aside the document without proper implementation.
But Abati said such fear was
unnecessary as the President had not issued any other directive to invalidate
the earlier one handed down to the AGF.
He said as far as the President was
concerned, both the bribery allegation and the report of the ad hoc committee
were currently before security agencies who he believed would do a thorough job
on both.
“When the President received the
report of the House of Representatives’ ad hoc committee, he made a
presidential directive. Has that directive been changed?
“That directive has not been changed.
Both the bribery allegation and the report are before security agencies and
they will do a thorough job on both of them,” Abati said.