HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND DEIZIANI ALLISON-MADUEKE CHALLENGER 850 JET SCANDAL: RUNNING TO THE JUDICIARY FOR SUCCOUR
Baaroyin Kayode Odunaro
When the House of Representatives passed the motion moved by Hon. (Dr.) Babatunde Adejare to investigate an alleged N10billion expenditure by NNPC and Mr. Deiziani Allison-Madueke to charter a Challenger 850 private Jet plane for mostly private travels across the globe, I knew immediately that the House has stirred the hornet nest as the territory of Petroleum Resources and NNPC with all its affiliates are more or less a cabal run by mafia like bosses with too much petrol dollar to corrupt or compromise anybody that as much as utter a word on its operation.
My suspicion was on target as less than 24 hour after the resolution of the House the internet through on line bloggers and even online copies of all major newspapers in Nigeria were awash with PAID advertorials aimed at cajoling and blackmailing the legislature to back off on its constitutional duty to expose corruption in government. The approach was to make reference to the controversial case of Hon. Farouk Lawan Vs Otedola as well as Hon. Hembe Vs Oteh and wrongly insinuate that this probe is just another probe like those two. When that approach did not yield desired result some illiterate (as depicted in their placards) market women were mobilized to protest the probe against the “Queen of Nigerian” petrol at National Assembly precinct.
With all these one was forced to surmise that here we go again, Nigerian Way. However, the only silver lining on the sky was the leadership of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House mandated to conduct the investigation. This committee is headed by Hon. Solomon Olamilekan Adeola fca who through the PAC has in recent times been exposing huge corrupt practices in government including a N 59 billion Service Wide Votes funds released to NNPC but could no longer be trace between Budget Office that issue the Authority to Incur Expenditure(AIE),the Ministry of Finance and CBN! So far the Honourable has discharged his duties at the PAC with patriotic fervor and one was confident that he will not disappoint in this assignment.
I had no illusion however that it is going to be a tough one. In course of the preliminary investigations as reported in some dailies more damning facts were uncovered including an additional jet and foreign itinerary of the Minister of Petroleum. Of course the NNPC tried an image laundry job of defending the use of jet but nobody was taken in by the explanations.
Event came to a head when the PAC wrote a memo to NNPC, the minister and other stakeholders requesting for information to assist the investigation into the ALLEGATION. For days not a word from NNPC or the minister but the Challenger 850 owner and the Executive Jet hangers were forthcoming with information available to them to the PAC.
Notwithstanding, the PAC fixes April 28, 2014 for Public hearing on the allegation only for a court order procured on the same day as the proposed date of public hearing to be served on the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal stopping the investigation.
For now there are certain conclusions to be drawn so far on the issue. One is that some vested interest doesn’t want the investigation to go on. Two, the PAC under Hon. Adeola appear incorruptible with petrol dollars as is usually the case to compromise the investigation thus the recourse to the judiciary.
Three, the people of Nigeria, have drawn their conclusion of the evasive tactics of NNPC and the minister on a matter that is just under investigation.
As often said only the guilty are afraid and if the investigation is not done now, the people have drawn their conclusion and the long arm of the law may wait for a while, possibly at the end of the tenure of present occupiers of the throne to know if our minister, a public officer, is entitle to jet around in chartered luxury jet on public fund (N10billion!) for private visits.
As it is the matter is in court and the Judiciary again is dragged into a controversial position of the appropriateness of using ONE arm of the government to stop the constitutional functioning of another arm pursuant of the PUBLIC GOOD OF EXPOSING CORRUPTION vested in the legislature.
For now one commends the resoluteness of Hon. Adeola led PAC and his incorruptibility as manifested in this case. The House should once again establish the constitutionality of a court order stopping it from doing its constitutional duty. UP NIGERIA. NIGERIAN FOR LIFE.
