More trouble for Bankole •ICPC probes him, others over N10bn loan •As Speaker survives Reps’ plot to remove him

“We are also concerned that the above allegations constitute grave breaches of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Act of 2000; the Public Procurement Act 2007, and the UN Convention against Corruption, which Nigeria has ratified. Specifically, the UN Convention against Corruption requires states parties, including Nigeria, to promote integrity, accountability and proper management of public affairs.”

The group also noted that “Effective investigation and prosecution of the fresh allegations alongside the previous allegations of corruption in the House of Representatives would help to address impunity of perpetrators, which is the single most important factor for the prevalence of high-level official corruption in the country. Such impunity can be interpreted as the existence of interference of politicians to protect suspected perpetrators from prosecution.

“Addressing high-level official corruption effectively would also help to reduce or eliminate low level corruption among public servants in the country. Allegations of corruption by lawmakers would undermine the credibility of the legislative process and impede the ability of the current or future House of Representatives to effectively perform its constitutional oversight or to provide the necessary leadership in the anti-corruption fight. The allegations also amount to a grave breach of constitutional provisions and would undermine the constitutional role of the House of Representatives to make laws for the good and development of the country.”

The petitioner also said that, “Parties must take measures to preserve the integrity of accounting books, records, financial statements or other documents related to public expenditure and revenue, and to prevent the falsification of such documents.  The Convention also prohibits the abuse of functions or position, and imposes clear obligations on Nigeria to investigate allegations of corruption, such as the present one; prosecute suspected perpetrators and ensure return and repatriation of proceeds of corruption.”

The group, therefore, asked the ICPC to:
•Fully and transparently investigate the allegations of corruption highlighted above, and to make public the stage of its investigation of the allegation of corruption in the N10 billion loan obtained by the leadership of the House of Representatives.

•Make public the findings of its investigation into the fresh allegations, and all the previous allegations of corruption in the House of Representatives

•Ensure the recovery of any money that is the subject of corruption, and ensure that those suspected to be responsible are brought to justice. 

The petition further stated that “According to information, the leadership of the House of Representatives took out N10 billion loan allegedly without consultation with the members. The money is reportedly missing or cannot be accounted for. As a result, members’ remunerations remain unpaid. The official bank of the House, United Bank for Africa (UBA), had reportedly withheld the second quarter allocation of all 360 members of the House and the emolument of the 11 re-admitted legislators owing to the indebtedness.

“Some members of the House interviewed by SERAP said that they were told by the bank where the salaries of members were domiciled that the money for House of Representatives’ allowances had been paid by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), but because the House was indebted to the bank, it refused to pay the members’ entitlements. It is also alleged that some principal officers of the House collected the loans without the consent of members.”

Meanwhile, Honourable Bankole, on Thursday succeeded in defusing the plot to ease him out of office less than three weeks to the expiration of his tenure on the allegation that he collected the sum N10 billion loan from the House bankers, the UBA without authorisation.

Tension had built up among members who complained about non-payment of their salaries and allowances for the month of April, whereas the most aggrieved had planned to have a showdown with the leadership on the basis that the loan had hampered the chance they had to collect their pay.

Bankole, who had stayed off the Speaker’s seat in the past two sittings, showed up surprisingly to preside over the plenary and had hardly taken his seat when members requested for the session to be held closed door.

The speaker had initially opposed the wish of members on the basis that even everything that would be discussed at the executive session would be fully reported in the media the following day. He was prevailed upon to agree to allow the House seat in camera.

The lawmakers spent about two hours of deliberations at the executive session before returning to plenary session, leaving the Speaker to announce that members had accepted the explanations he offered on the loan taken and how it was spent.

He announced that the leadership was still expecting the payment of the emoluments of the 11 members who were recalled from suspension.

It was after he read the resolution of the House to his colleagues on the issues at stake that he called for adoption.

Those who supported the conclusion were in the majority, a reason he banged the gavel to signal an end to the plot to make him step aside as speaker.

Nigerian Tribune learnt that Bankole, during the executive session, explained to the lawmakers that the N10 billion was borrowed in May, last year, to meet pressing expenses when the passage of the budget was delayed, adding that the loan was rolled over to this year with the accrued interest.

The chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Honourable Ita Enang, who later addressed the media, said all issues relating to the grievances of members had been amicably resolved, while outstanding ones were being resolved.

According to Enang, the loan transaction should be seen and treated as purely a domestic transaction between a bank and its customer.