The House of Representatives was, yesterday, recalled from break as
the cash for clearance scandal widened with the Police disclosing that
other oil industry interests besides Femi Otedola gave bribes in
dollars, pounds and local currencies to the committee.
The revelation came as House members fought back, alleging a
systematic attempt by the Presidency and other interested parties to
damage the credibility of the report produced by the Farouk Lawan led
ad-hoc committee that investigated the implementation of the Federal
Government subsidy regime.
It also emerged, yesterday, that Speaker Aminu Tambuwal refused
entreaties from the State Security Service, SSS to retrieve the bribe
passed on to Lawan by Otedola. Tambuwal, it was learnt, insisted that
his touching the money would mean tampering with the evidence.
The discovery that other oil interest groups allegedly paid bribes to
the Lawan committee emerged from the work of the CP Ali Amodu-led
Special Task Force investigating the scandal. There were also feelers
from the Special Task Force that the $620, 000 bribe money admittedly
received by Lawan may have been destroyed.
Lawan who has so far not formally appeared before the Police team
investigating the scandal now has a deadline of tomorrow to appear
before the Police or be declared wanted.
As a source said yesterday: “Lawan is to appear before the
investigation team and say all he knows about the bribery allegations
against him or risk the consequences as the Police is empowered by law
to take such other lawful steps necessary to help with the
investigations.”
Chairman of Zenon Oil, Chief Femi Otedola, who claimed to have given
Rep. Farouk Lawan marked $620,000 as part payment of the $3m demanded
from him as bribe appeared before the police panel on Tuesday during
which he tendered both video and audio evidence of the transaction
between him, (Otedola) and Lawan.
Source
A senior Police source told Vanguard yesterday that the investigating
team has enough evidence, including the call logs of the discussions
between Farouk and Otedola on where, how and when the money will be
collected, as well as the fact that Farouk went to Otedola’s house by 4
am to collect the money.