Forcing Reps Committees to halt probe criminal, PDP insists

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday insisted that the action of the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership of the House of Representatives to shut down the sitting of committees carrying out investigation on the executive “in order to cover corruption in the APC administration and shield corrupt APC leaders,” is criminal.

The main opposition party made the assertion in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan in Abuja on Monday, noting that no amount of vituperations, hauling of insults, threats and secret phone calls from the APC leadership of the House of Representatives and its agents will make it jettison its stance against what it termed the deliberate design to frustrate the legislative committees and put a wedge in the way of the fight against corruption.

The added: “Our party holds that, if anything, the unnecessary and unwarranted resort to invectives, name-calling and slurs by the APC leadership of the House, instead of addressing the issues, has only confirmed our position that corruption is fighting back from within the legislative and executive government circles of the APC administration.

“It is, to say the least, disgraceful that instead of owning up, apologizing to Nigerians and allowing the committees to continue with their investigations, the APC leadership of the House is rather labouring to divert attention from its culpability in patronizing corruption.”

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The PDP expressed the belief that when matters of national interest such as investigation of allegations of corruption are before the legislature, no attempt, overtly or covertly, should be made to undermine or sabotage them, let alone ordering a forceful shutdown of investigation.

It further stated: “Indeed, nothing in parliamentary rules makes it sacrosanct that legislative committees cannot sit during the parliamentary recess.

“The attempt by APC leadership in the House to mislead Nigerians with skewed interpretations that suit its purpose of frustrating the fight against corruption is completely condemnable and amount to a huge disservice to Nigerians.

“In fact, it is on record that during the days of PDP leadership of both chambers of the National Assembly, even when the House of Representatives is on recess and crucial national issues such as the on-going investigations emerge, the leadership would recall legislators and relevant committees to attend to them.

“We in the PDP stands with Nigerians to insist that if indeed the Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila-led leadership is not sabotaging the basic responsibility of the House of Representatives, which is its oversight on the executive, it should immediately retract the statement issued by the House Majority Leader, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, apologize to Nigerians and allow the committees to continue their investigations without the interferences by the leadership of the House.”

Recall that the House of Representatives had suspended all investigations, public hearings, and Committee meetings as well as other legislative activities until the resumption of the National Assembly from annual recess in September.

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