Subsidy panel members fret over $3m bribery allegation

Fear of arrest has gripped members of the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on the Monitoring of Subsidy Regime.
Investigations by The PUNCH on Monday, revealed that the members were worried by the allegation that the Chairman, Mr. Farouk Lawan, negotiated a $3m bribe with an oil businessman, Mr. Femi Otedola.
Otedola had opened up how, in a sting operation coordinated by the State Security Service, he allegedly delivered the part payment of $500,000 to Lawan.
He also claimed that another $120,000 was given to the Clerk to the committee, Mr. Boniface Emenalo, bringing the total part payment to $620,000.
“These latest revelations have sealed the hope of members that the allegations will be without proof,” a source close to the committee confided in The PUNCH in Abuja on Monday.
Findings showed that besides Lawan, the seven other members of the panel were said to be worried that at any moment, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission might knock on their doors.
A member who begged not to be named, said, “For the first time in my life, I may be called by the EFCC to account for what I don’t know.
“The way things have turned out, it is obvious that the EFCC will wade in now.
“The matter is already a security issue, given the boldness of Otedola in the manner he spoke and the fact that he involved the SSS and the EFCC.
“I am deeply distressed; the EFCC will invite us to state our side of the story. I know this for sure.”
The lawmaker, however, insisted that he was clean and could vouch for many members of the committee.
“We were never involved; Farouk acted alone, as the lone-ranger he has been known to be,” the member added.

PUNCH