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.”
No comments:
Post a Comment