Teddy Oscar, Abuja
The speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, on Tuesday declared that the Green Chambers of the National Assembly would not be deterred by the legal suit filed against the leadership of the House by the minister of petroleum resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, not to probe the embattled minister.
Tambuwal, who presided the affairs of the House on return from Easter break, insisted that the minister was still under investigation by the House.
Alison-Madueke was to be probed by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House on Monday for allegedly spending N10 billion to maintain a chartered Challenger 850 aircraft in two years.
But an Abuja Federal High Court court process, which contested the probe, forced the committee to stay action on the investigation.
But Tambuwal, however, reaffirmed the commitment of the House to continue with the investigation.
The speaker made his position know while reacting to a point of order raised by a member of the House at the plenary.
“The House Public Accounts Committee will stay action, pending the receipt of legal advice on the matter before the court. We have not closed that investigation. When we get legal advice, we will know the next line of action,” he said.
Hon. Omosule Eniolorunda had raised a point of order seeking clarification on the position of the House on the matter, following conflicting reports that an Abuja Federal High Court, which granted an order to restrain the House from continuing with the investigation.
Alison-Madueke has allegedly not only used the said chartered aircraft(s) for official matters, but also private trips, an allegation the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has debunked in other quarters.
The NNPC insists that the practice (chartering aircraft) is common and acceptable in the local and international businss environment in which it operates.
