The House of Representatives ad hoc Committee on Arms and Ammunition has summoned the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Attahiru Ibrahim, and the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, to appear before it and clarify issues and as well as account for the monies released for the purchase of arms by the Nigerian Army.
The summon was sequel to a unanimous adoption of a motion by Hon. Bede Eke at the committee’s sitting Monday, constituted to investigate the purchase of arms and ammunition by the military and paramilitary in the country.
The public officers had earlier on Friday, March 12, 2021 failed to appear before the committee.
Moving the motion, Eke said that the summon became necessary following the refusal of the public officers to honour several invitations extended to them by the committee.
He said that the committee had invited the COAS four times and the CBN governor five times and they have refused to honour the invitation.
The lawmaker said: ”CBN has been a problem to this house and they cannot operate the way they are operating and this house will keep quiet because we approve their budget. What are we asking for? Come and tell us how much we have paid for the purchase of arms; we have given you the right to fair hearing.
”Are you hiding anything? We will not allow it, if there is something you are hiding because you are CBN, we will not allow it. People are killed everyday, I want to move a motion because we do not have time; we come here everyday, sit for hours and wait for a government agency. I move that we summon especially the COAS and CBN, enough is enough, let them be summoned, that is when they will know we are serious.”
Contributing to the motion, Hon. Ibrahim Aliyu said that the public officers needed to come to terms with the gravity of the investigation.
Aliyu said that the committee has information and documents and was only giving the officers an opportunity for a fair hearing.
Earlier, the Chairman of the committee, Hon. Olaide Akinremi, said that the committee expected the Ministries of Finance, Defence, Interior, CBN, COAS and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to appear before it.
He said that the Ministry of Defence had earlier written to the committee to seek a later date to appear and it was granted.
Akinremi said that the committee had been waiting for three hours for the invited public officers but they failed to show up.
According to him, ”The house has already passed a resolution in accordance with the COVID-19 protocols that we should not stay more than three hours at committee meetings and we cannot continue to sit here and wait. The invitations extended to the public officers are in line with section 88 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.”
The committee chairman, however, did all he could to play down the summon but to no avail.
The lawmakers thereby fixed Wednesday, April 7 for the public officers to appear.
