The House of Representatives has declared a ‘war’ against Niger Delta Affairs Minister Godswill Akpabio.
It wants Senator Akpabio to, within 48 hours, provide the names of the National Assembly members whom he accused on Monday of being beneficiaries of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) contracts.
To show how serious the House was about the allegation, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila directed the Clerk of the House, Patrick Giwa, to ensure that Akpabio complied with the directive.
While testifying before the House committee probing alleged financial recklessness in the NDDC, Akpabio said: “We have records to show that most of the contracts of NDDC are given to members of the National Assembly, but you don’t know about it.”
But, ruling on a matter of privileges brought by the Minority Leader of the House, Ndudi Elumelu, during Tuesday’s plenary, Gbajabiamila warned that the minister would face the “full weight of the law”, if he failed to comply with the order.
Although he said his initial reaction was to have a good laugh when Akpabio made the allegation, he realised that it (allegation) impinged on the integrity of the House.
He said the minister, a senator in the 8th National Asembly and a former Akwa Ibom State State governor, owed it a duty to himself, the House Committee on Niger Delta, the people of Niger Delta as well as other Nigerians, to publish the names of the lawmakers who got contracts from the NDDC.
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