Buhari's SGF Must Defend Himself or Resign – Nigerian Senators Insist ~ Zip Up Gist

Buhari's SGF Must Defend Himself or Resign – Nigerian Senators Insist

Babachir Lawal

The embattled Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, is set to appear before the Nigerian Senate as the lawmakers is insisting that he must appear before them to defend himself against the allegations of corruption and misconduct or quit his office.

According to Punch newspaper, the members of the senate who insisted on their call for Lawal’s removal, arrest and prosecution, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to compel the SGF to defend himself before the lawmakers.

It was learnt on Thursday that the majority of the senators supported the Chairman of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Mounting Humanitarian Crisis in the North-East, Senator Shehu Sani, who dismissed Buhari’s letter in which the President gave reasons why Lawal would not be sacked.

Speaking to a correspondent, the Kaduna state senator, Sani told said that the ad hoc committee might re-invite the SGF as its investigations continued. “We can re-invite him (Lawal); there is no problem with that. If there is the need, we will invite him again,” he said.

Also speaking to a correspondent, other senators, said the President should allow the SGF to defend himself before the Senate rather than the President defending him.

Recall that the Nigerian Senate had called for Lawal’s resignation, probe and prosecution over the findings in the interim report of the Senate ad hoc committee on the situation in the North-East.

The decision was based on the interim report by the Senate Committee on the Mounting Humanitarian Crisis in the North-East, headed by Senator Shehu Sani, which was released on December 14, 2016.

The lawmakers specifically called on security and anti-graft agencies to arrest and prosecute Lawal, who is overseeing the Presidential Initiative on the North-East, for allegedly owning one of the companies awarded contracts in the rehabilitation of the North-East.

The SGF had denied the allegation, saying what the Senate said was “balderdash.” He alleged that there was an attempt by the senators to malign him, wondering why the committee did not invite him to confront him with those allegations during the investigative hearing.

360tozi