The leadership of the House of Representatives has clarified that there is no disagreement between the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas and his Deputy, Benjamin Kalu over the dissolution of the ad hoc committee on oil and gas investigating the importation of fuel and sale of crude by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
The Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Akin Rotimi in a statement on Wednesday said insinuations in some quarters that the duo was at loggerheads with each other over the dissolution of the committee and that there was an underhand dealing in the appointment of committee chairmen was false and should be disregarded.
He said “The House of Representatives has observed, with consternation, the speculations in some sections of the media following the dissolution of the Ad Hoc Committee on Oil and Gas by the leadership of the House.
“It is necessary to clarify that the action by the leadership was to ensure efficacy, independence, and effectiveness of the investigation.
“Appallingly, some people went to town with speculations regarding the action of the leadership, with some making allegations of a rift between the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, while others alleged that there was an inducement for the appointment of a committee chairman.
“There is no rift whatsoever between the speaker and the deputy speaker regarding this or any matter; the duo enjoys a robust and cordial relationship. The two presiding officers also have mutual respect, and will not allow anything to come between them”.
Explaining further, Rotimi said “The House has its internal working mechanisms, which are enabled by Section 60 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which provides that “Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Senate or the House of Representatives shall have power to regulate its own procedure, including the procedure for summoning and recess of the House.
“That the action taken by the House to dissolve the ad hoc committee on oil and gas investigation did not contravene any rule of the House or any law of the land;
“That at no time did the House leadership or anybody for that matter receive inducement for the appointment of any committee chairman. It was an assignment diligently executed by the Selection Committee of the House between June and July 2023, which has a member from each of the states of the federation”
Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker Kalu has declared that he does not have any misunderstanding with Speaker Abbas and is firmly in support of the dissolution of the joint committee on Petroleum Resources (Midstream) and (Downstream) probing the activities of Nigeria’s petroleum sector, a decision recently taken by the leadership of the parliament.
A statement by the deputy speaker’s spokesperson, Levinus Nwabughiogu said “The deputy speaker does not also have any misunderstanding of any kind with the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas and the House leadership on the development.
“We make bold to emphatically state that there is no conflict and has never been any between Speaker Abbas and the deputy speaker since their election as the presiding officers of the 10th House in June 2023.
“Both leaders enjoy a robust working relationship akin to filial ties and at no time has Kalu’s loyalty to the speaker been questioned.
“Abbas has explicit confidence in his deputy whom he publicly refers to as his brother, friend, confidant and strong support.
“Let it also be stated that the report of a shouting match between Speaker Abbas and Kalu during the recent emergency leadership meeting, in which the deputy speaker participated via Zoom from a very noisy ward-to-ward, thank-you tour at Ugwueke in Bende federal constituency of Abia state is greatly unfounded, insensitive and senseless. The minutes of the meeting are there and will convince anyone in doubt.
“The decision for the dissolution was a matter of necessity collectively taken by the House leadership and Kalu is in total support of it for a better investigative structure soon to be announced on the same subject matter.
“For purposes of accentuation, the leadership of the two chambers of the National Assembly is coming up with a new model for the probe, which details will be communicated to the public soon. This has nothing to do with any allegation or offence on the part of the joint committee in question. Again, the minute of the meeting has no record of such strange allegations.
“Moreso, the allegation of an S10 million bribe is an elaborate hoax, a joke taken too far. It is ludicrous, grossly spurious and provocative. It should be completely disregarded. There is no report of any indictment and nothing close to it was mentioned with regards to the committee, their leadership or membership”.
