Editor
By Fatima Saka
The Senate has observed with serious concerns various malicious efforts to incite the public against the legislators, its leadership, and the National Assembly as a whole.
In a recent petition purportedly directed to Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), against the Leader of the Senate, Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, CON.
The petition, signed by the Convener of the Public Procurement Transparency Group, David Udoh, accused Senator Bamidele of coercing and pressuring the Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Mr. Abba Abubakar Aliyu, to allocate contracts to certain companies associated with him in violation of the Public Procurement Act, 2007. This accusation is not only unfounded but also lacks any substantiating evidence.
REA has promptly released a statement refuting all these malicious allegations. Particularly, its management emphasized that it was never under any duress to compromise the integrity of its procurement process. On the contrary, it consistently upholds transparency, equity, and due process in all its operations, including procurement.
This communication was conveyed to the media on Friday through a document signed by the Directorate of Media and Public Affairs, Office of the Senate Leader, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
According to the statement: “We have endured more than enough baseless attacks by anonymous groups and individuals utilizing certain bloggers and social media platforms to disseminate falsehoods and fallacies to the unsuspecting public, which could potentially tarnish not only the image of the National Assembly but also the public perception of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, especially among the international community.
“Our preliminary investigations have revealed that the Public Procurement Transparency Group is not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission; its Convener, David Udoh, remains unidentified, and his phone contact is essentially inactive and non-operational. Further inquiries have shown that this unidentified group never lodged any petition with the ICPC. Nonetheless, its primary objective was to utilize social media as a tool to defame Senator Bamidele.
“Nigeria is a federation comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory governed by the Constitution, Acts of the National Assembly, and judicial precedents. Henceforth, we shall no longer treat instances of baseless allegations against the Senate, its leadership, and the National Assembly lightly. Instead, we shall address such transgressions in accordance with existing laws, and anyone found guilty in the process will face the full consequences of the law.”
