The House of Representatives has accused the Minister of Petroleum
Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, and the NIgerian National
Petroleum Corporation, of deliberately shielding their activities from
public scrutiny.
It said Alison-Madueke and the
NNPC were frustrating its planned probe of the N10bn chartered jet
scandal involving the minister and NNPC’s proposed $1.5bn loan because
they “don’t want to be accountable to the people.”
This
allegation is contained in a notice of preliminary objection dated
October 31, 2014 and filed by the House of Representatives in opposition
to the suit instituted by Alison-Madueke and the NNPC seeking an order
stopping the House from probing them.
The House of
Representatives which is along with the Senate, a defendant in the suit,
said the two plaintiffs had refused to honour invitations by its
various committees set up to probe the allegations against them.
The
lawyer who filed the notice of preliminary objection on behalf of the
House, Aminu Sadauki, explained in his written address, “The minor
material leading to the suit is to prevent the investigation by the
committee of the 2nd defendant (House of Representatives) into the
alleged $1.5bn loan.
“It was also filed to
stop the 2nd defendant from investigating the charter of private
aircraft for alleged non-official use by the plaintiffs.
“The
major fact leading to the suit is that the plaintiff, who are in the
executive branch do not want to be accountable to the people through
their representatives in the National Assembly.
“The plaintiffs are seeking to cut off the investigatory powers of the National Assembly.”
An
affidavit in support of the House of Representatives’ notice of
preliminary objection reads in part, “I know as a fact that the main
reasons giving rise to the suit are that:
“The 2nd
defendant’s House Committee on Petroleum (Upstream) invited the Group
Managing Director of the 2nd plaintiff (NNPC) to appear before it on
Wednesday, July 17, 2013 over proposed $1.5bn NNPC loan.
“Letters
written by the 2nd defendant to the plaintiffs dated March 26, 2014,
inviting the plaintiffs to testify and tender evidence at the
investigative public hearing of the 2nd defendant’s Public Accounts
Committee which they proposed to hold into the charter of private
aircraft for alleged non-official use by the plaintiffs.”
One
of the counsel for the House of Representatives, Anulika Osuigwe, who
deposed to the supporting affidavit, added that “the plaintiffs are yet
to comply with the invitations.”
The House of
Representatives, through the notice of preliminary objection, asked the
court to dismiss the suit by the two plaintiffs, on the grounds that
it, among others, amounted to an abuse of court process.
It
also argued that the suit was premature and non-justifiable, adding
that the plaintiffs had similar suit “between the same parties and on
substantially the same ground”, pending before Justice Ahmed Mohammed of
the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The Senate which
is the 2nd defendant in the suit, was represented in court by O. K
Akpokona on Tuesday, but had yet to file such notice of preliminary
objection.
Alison-Madueke and the NNPC had through their counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), filed their suit, tagged, FHC/ABJ/CS/346/2014.
They
want the court to among others declare that by law, both the Senate and
the House of Representatives lacked the power to invite them without
first obtaining the consent of the President.
Justice
Gabriel Kolawole on Tuesday directed the plaintiffs to respond to the
House of Representatives’ notice of preliminary objection within the
period stipulated by the court rules.
He also
directed the House of Representatives to file any process it might
intend to file in reply within the period as described in the court
rules.
