Members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly have denied that any of their members was under investigation for certificate forgery let alone prosecution, saying the reports in some media were “baseless.”
Some of the members told the Nigerian Tribune on Monday that the reports were “strange” to them.
They challenged the claimants to publish the names of such lawmakers and their other identities.
“Let them name those they’re claiming are being charged. Is it in the purview of the EFCC or the DSS to investigate certificate forgery? Is it for the office of the Attorney General of the Federation to be prosecuting people for such offences?
“It is all lies and it is part of their plan to continue to embarrass the government. If these things were real, they would have published their facts in their media organisations and put us on the defensive. However, we are waiting for the office of the Attorney General to invite us for the alleged investigations.”
The chairman of the House Committee on Information, Chief Gboyega Aribisogan, said the reports were “baseless, wicked and a continuation of relentless efforts of faceless enemies of the state to discredit the government” and added that “the rumour that the lawmakers were in hiding was a proof that liars and enemies of progress are at work.”
The members, who spoke after a session on Monday, said “the House held its parliamentary meeting in the complex today (Monday) without any hindrance.”
According to him, “the House is composed of professionals in different fields of endeavour who had made their impacts in their respective sectors. Some enemies of the state, in their unrelenting bid to discredit the state government, have alleged, through an apparently-sponsored story, that nine of the 26 honourable members of the House are under investigation for alleged certificate forgery.
“This is clearly a careless and baseless allegation, considering that all the members of the House were duly screened by relevant government agencies prior to their elections into the House.