Reps summon Emefiele, Attahiru over arms expenditure as Gbajabiamila deplores insecurity

Urge arrest, the trial of Ortom convoy’s attackers

The Olaide Akinremi-led Ad Hoc Committee of the House of Representatives has summoned Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, for allegedly refusing to account for what had been spent on arms from 2011 till date.

Also invited to brief the lawmakers on the use and control of ammunition and related hardware by the military, paramilitary, and other law enforcement agencies is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion by Bede Eke (Imo: PDP) during a meeting of the committee yesterday in Abuja.

Akinremi (Oyo: APC), who directed the duo to appear before the panel on April 7, explained that the invitation was in line with Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended that empowered the National Assembly to ensure transparency and accountability in the governance of the country.

Attempts by the chairman, who is knowledgeable of security matters, to play down the issue were futile, as the other members stood their ground.

Bede, who later addressed reporters, submitted: “We have written to the CBN five times, the COAS, four times, inviting them to appear before this special ad hoc committee. It was set up to look into the purchase and control of arms. We are all aware that there are killings everywhere in the country.

“Governments are even forced to go into a negotiation with bandits. We just asked the invitees to come to address us on how much of tax payers’ money has been spent on arms and what is happening.

“We are talking about billions of naira approved by this National Assembly. And of course, as of last week, there were conflicting reports of missing funds and rebuttals from the security apparatchik.

“These are the things we want to look into. We don’t just want to sit down here and take a position.”

THIS is as the lower legislative chamber’s Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, yesterday, decried the rising insecurity in the country, charging the Federal Government to urgently reverse the trend.

He noted that the national economic outlook had begun showing troubling signs.

Speaking during the public hearing of the House Committee on National Planning and Economic Development, Gbajabiamila underscored the importance of legislative interventions in securing the nation’s future and happiness of the people.

The meeting equally stressed the need to make conscious plans for a post-oil economy in Nigeria.

According to the Speaker, the world is racing away from the extractive economic model towards a knowledge economy model that prizes technological innovation and marketplace of ideas over heavy industry and trade in natural resources.

ALSO yesterday, the Green Chamber’s Minority Caucus demanded the arrest and trial of those behind the assassination attempt on Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State.

Its leader, Ndudi Elumelu, called for a wholesale investigation into the incident with a view to bringing the masterminds to book.

The caucus regretted that outlaws, bandits, and terrorists could boldly open fire on the convoy of an elected governor.