Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Dimeji Bankole, may be in for another trouble as the House, on Wednesday, moved to probe him over financial misappropriation. Honourable Dino Melaye had accused the Speaker in a motion of squandering the salaries and allowances of 11 readmitted members of the House who had earlier been placed on suspension.
The House also ordered a preliminary investigation into his alleged indebtedness to a commercial bank to the tune of N10 billion and the apparent inability of the House to pay the outstanding salaries and allowances of its members.
The resolution came amidst tension and drama which arose from the initial lock out of the lawmakers from the chamber and the move by some aggrieved lawmakers to confront the leadership on account of the allegations.
The decision to conduct an investigation into the finances of the House was taken on Wednesday at the plenary amidst rowdiness and tight security. Bankole was absent at the session. It was the second consecutive legislative sitting he would be absenting himself since the House resumed from the election break.
The resolution to probe the duo followed a motion of privilege moved by Honourable Melaye seeking the intervention of the House on the issue of the non-payment of arrears of salaries and allowances owed him and five other legislators who were suspended last year and later re-instated through a court order. In the motion, Melaye also alleged that not only had the House been unable to pay the recalled members, it has been unable to pay the salaries, allowances and severance package of the entire members of the House, barely three weeks to the end of the sixth session of the National Assembly.
He therefore asked the House to set up an ad hoc committee to look into the finances of the House, stressing that “the Speaker should be suspended until the report of the committee is submitted.”
The House had on Tuesday last week passed a motion directing the House leadership to pay the Dino Melaye-led progressives, who were suspended after accusing Bankole of mismanaging about N9 billion of the House budgets 2009 and 2010.
According to Melaye, “we discovered that while we were on suspension, cheques were raised in our names, the cheques started disappearing since November last year. Our money has been spent.”
Melaye was, however, shouted down by his colleagues when he said, “the House is indebted to the tune of!.”
He added that the Central Bank of Nigeria had released the money but the House banker (UBA) withheld the money because the House was indebted to the bank, stressing that from the House records “no resolution was taken to take loans from the bank.”
He then asked that the House should take a resolution and write to the bank to pay their salaries and allowances of 11 months.
He also raised the alarm that “there is no money to run this House. There is leadership failure.”
The deputy speaker, however, apologised to the members for adjourning the House unceremoniously last Wednesday and instructed the Clerk of the House, Sanni Omololu, and the National Assembly Finance department to ensure quick payment of the readmitted lawmakers’ salaries and allowances.
Contributing to the motion, Honourable Abdul Ningi told the sitting that “Dino has raised very weighty and fundamental allegation. The matter is beyond the payment of suspended 11 members now, it has extended to everybody. Now nobody to provide answer to the questions raised by Dino, and as a matter of urgency, the deputy speaker should invite the speaker to come tomorrow (today) 10.00a.m. to answer all the questions.”
To this end, Honourable Melaye asked that his motion be stood down till 10.00a.m today.
After a long argument from members, the House resolved that the speaker should appear before the House today to offer explanation on the allegations raised by Melaye.
Excerpt from:
Bankole in trouble •Faces suspension over House fund