Reps committee yet to probe Hembe, Oteh

Posted by admin House, Legislature Tuesday, May 29th, 2012

May 29, 2012 by John Ameh and Ihuoma Chiedozie 4 Comments

House of Representatives Committee on Ethics and Privileges has yet to investigate the N44m bribery allegation by the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms Arunma Oteh, more than two months after the House referred the matter to the committee.

Our correspondent learnt that the committee had neither met over the controversial matter nor had it summoned the Chairman of the House Committee on Capital Market and other Institutions, Mr. Herman Hembe, and Oteh to appear before it.

Oteh had accused Hembe of demanding N39m from SEC and another N5m cash request to support the investigation into the near-collapse of the Nigerian Capital Market, totalling N44m.

SEC did not give the money.

She also claimed that Hembe and the committee’s Deputy Chairman, Mr. Chris Azubogu, took first class tickets and estacode from SEC to attend a capital market conference in the Dominican Republic but did not use the money as planned.

Oteh added that the two politicians did not return the estacode to SEC.

Hembe later withdrew his committee from the probe and offered to subject himself to investigation by anti-graft agencies.

The House, in response, reassigned the capital market investigation to an eight-member ad-hoc committee chaired by Mr. Ibrahim El-Sudi.

However, over two months after the referral was done by the Speaker, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, on March 20, the Samson Osagie committee has yet to sit.

Amid speculation that there might be a ploy to sweep the matter under the carpet, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission made a botched attempt two weeks ago to arraign Hembe and Azubogu for alleged diversion of the $4,000 estacode each of them took from SEC.

The House had initially attributed the delay of the Osagie probe to the fact that the main investigation into the capital market crisis by El-Sudi’s committee was taking attention and could be distracted by another hearing.

Meanwhile, the EFCC on Monday, once again failed to arraign Hembe and Azubuogu as an Abuja High Court decided to first of all determine whether the anti-graft agency could go ahead to prosecute the lawmakers.

The EFCC arraigned the two lawmakers for allegedly diverting public funds, after reportedly obtaining travel allowances from SEC to travel for a seminar in the Dominican Republic, and failing to go on the trip-Punch.wp_posts