The Nigerian Senate has warned the public against making backbiting attempts to tarnish its image and that of its leadership threatening to sue anyone found wanting.
This is in response to a petition signed against the senate majority leader Opeyemi Bamidele (APC Ekiti Central) by a group identified as Public Procurement Transparency Group.
The Senate in the statement declared that it would no longer treat cases of cheap blackmail against it or any member of the Red Chamber with flippancy.
The Senate Leader’s Directorate of Media and Public Affairs made available the Senate’s position in a statement on Friday, August 30, 2024.
The statement noted that the latest incident involves a petition addressed to the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Dr. Musa Aliyu (SAN).
The petition, signed by David Udoh, Convener of the Public Procurement Transparency Group, blamed Bamidele of coercing the Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, into awarding contracts to Senator-linked companies in violation of the Public Procurement Act of 2007.
The statement dismissed the allegation as unfounded and unsupported by any serious evidence, and reported the REA as having released a statement disputing the claims, saying that its management had never been pressed to compromise the validity of its procurement procedure.
The Senate Leader’s media team said from preliminary investigations conducted, the Public Procurement Transparency Group is not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission adding that its Convener, David Udoh, is untraceable, with a non-functional phone contact. It was further revealed that no petition had been submitted to the ICPC by the group.”
The statement issued a caution to individuals behind misinformation campaigns, noting that Nigeria functions under a federal system controlled by the Constitution, National Assembly Acts, and legal precedents.
The Senate Leader’s office declared its intention to pursue legal action against those found guilty of blackmailing the Senate or its leadership.
The Statement read “We have endured enough all sorts of cheap blackmail by faceless groups and individuals using some bloggers and social media to feed the unsuspecting public with falsehoods and fallacies capable of causing further damage not just to the image of the National Assembly, but also to the public perception of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, especially among comity of nations,”
“Nigeria is a federation of 36 states and Federal Capital Territory governed by the Constitution, Acts of National Assembly and judicial precedents.
“Henceforth, we shall no more treat cases of cheap blackmail against the Senate, its leadership and the National Assembly lightly.
“But we shall treat such infractions within the confine of extant laws, and whoever found guilty in the process shall face the full wrath of the laws’’.
