Babachir Lawal: Presidency lied in its letter to the Senate – Sani

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Mounting Humanitarian Crisis in the North-East, Sen. Shehu Sani, has accused the presidency of lying in the letter it sent to the Senate.

Sani, who spoke on Tuesday while reacting to President Muhammadu Buhari’s letter dismissing the Senate’s indictment on the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, accused Buhari of double standards in his fight against corruption.

“When it comes to fighting corruption in the National Assembly and the Judiciary and in the larger Nigerian sectors, the President uses insecticide, but when it comes to fighting corruption within the Presidency, they use deodorants,” Sani said.

“It is shocking to me that such a letter can come from the Presidency with such misinformation and outright distortions. They lied by saying that the committee didn’t invite the SGF: the committee invited the SGF and the letter was acknowledged by the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the SGF.

“To make sure that we buttress our point, we made a paid advert in three or four national dailies: this one (Daily Trust) was published on December 2, 2016, and the SGF was clearly mentioned as one of those that were expected to come and appear before the National Assembly.

“If they have the intention of simply reaching a pre-determined conclusion by covering up on the issues raised by the committee, that is one thing.”

Sani added that the presidency was misinformed when it said Lawal was refused fair hearing and that the committee’s report was signed by only three of the nine members.

“I have a copy of the interim report which was initially signed by seven members of the nine members of that committee and I am going to submit it to the Clerk of the Senate,” Sani said.

“Even if it (total number of members) is nine and, then, three people signed, we still have a quorum. But, here, I have seven people.”

On the omission of his name, Sani said, “I know I am not very big in frame but I believe my name shouldn’t have been omitted. This shows clearly how the SGF and his minions in the Presidency misinformed the President to sign this letter.”

Sani described the President’s letter as “a funeral service for the anti-corruption fight”.

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