Absence of CBN governor, NIMASA DG stalls probe of looted funds

Ongoing investigative hearing into the looted funds initiated by the House of Representatives was stalled on Monday following the absence of Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele and Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Bashir Jamoh.

Worried by the flagrant disregard to the invitation sent by the Ad-hoc Committee on the ‘assessment and status of all recovered loot, movable and immovable assets from 2002 to 2020 by agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria for effective, efficient management and utilisation,’ Hon. Adejoro Adeogun who presided over the session, therefore issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the heads of all the invited MDAs to appear in person to various allegations.

Some of the agencies who sent representatives to the investigative hearing include the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

While addressing representative of the CBN Director of Banking Services, the chairman said: “You are a government official, aren’t you? Is that the procedure, that someone just appear and say he’s representing you without any communication? So as far as we are concerned you are impersonating the CBN too, we believe is not here,” he noted.

In the same vein, the chairman, who discountenanced the presence of a representative of NIMASA who explained that the communication was sent to him to represent the Director-General, said: “Was it communicated to us? Okay, it was communicated to you. That’s internal joke within your agency, it’s not within the Parliament. So if he’s dealing with the Parliament, there’s a procedure. Was he not confirmed by Parliament? Did he send you when he was coming for confirmation?

“No Sir,” the NIMASA staff replied.

Then the Chairman said: “He did not; good. So you cannot represent him here. First, there’s no letter to that effect communicated to us, so you cannot represent him. As far as we are concerned you are impersonating him just like the officer from CBN. It’s impersonation if someone just appears and claim to be someone else.”

He, however, noted that the Director-General of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has formally requested for another date to appear before the Committee.

In his intervention, Hon. Isiaka Ibrahim who frowned at the development, call for deliberate action towards curtailing the excesses of the public office holders who are in perpetual disregard to the democratic institution.

Hon. Ibrahim said: “I’m afraid that the agencies of government that are the products of the National Assembly law are the same persons trampling on the same process that established them. Apart from those created by the law of National Assembly they are those that have gone to the Senate for confirmation and National Assembly itself.

“So I’m worried that when they are invited and the National Assembly is taken for granted in a case like this calls for serious concern and I want to appeal that this should not end here. If it amounts to raising it on the floor of the House, we should shut down the National Assembly, the agency of government by section 88 and 89 if they are not going to respect us by honouring our invitation because we don’t need to be here.”

While ruling, Adeogun said: “This Committee has passed a motion that the governor of CBN, Inspector General of Police, the National Security Adviser and the Director-General of NIMASA have between now and Thursday to appear before this Committee. Otherwise, the parliament will invoke its powers to deal with them according to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“I am appalled by the actions of the agencies because it is indirectly insulting the National Assembly, not my person and I need you to communicate that to the Heads of the agencies that it is not the Chairman of the Committee that you are being impolite to.

“I don’t want to use the word insult or rude. Your indirect action is undermining the entire Parliament, not just the House of Representatives, but the entire institution of the National Assembly and that will not be taken by this Parliament.”

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