The four major actors in the N13 billion recovered funds from the Osborne Apartment, Ikoyi-Lagos have formally communicated their readiness to appear before the House Committee on National Security and Intelligence, on Wednesday, 17th May, 2017.
The House had penultimate week via a resolution passed on the motion sponsored by Babatunde Kolawole (APC-Ondo) mandated the Committee chaired by Aminu Jaji (APC-Zamfara) to probe the local and foreign currencies totalling about $43.4 million, £27,800 and N23.2 million uncovered by the EFCC.
The House also urged the Committee to ascertain the owner of the fund and report back within two weeks for further legislative action.
Jaji and members of the Committee who noted that the Committee derived its powers from section 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) at the last week meeting, threatened to make recommendations based on the reports submitted by the general public to the House without the input of the affected public officers who failed to honour the invitation of the Committee.
Speaking in a chat with BusinesDay and select Legislative Correspondents, Leo Ogor, Minority Leader expressed overwhelming interest in ascertain how NIA gets such foreign currencies for its operations and who authorised the fund.
Ogor who is a third term legislator in the House, noted he could not recall that such amount was approved in the previous Appropriation Act passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the present and previous administrations.
BusinessDay gathered that all the parties which failed to appear before the Committee last week, including the CBN and EFCC via separate letters addressed to the Chairman of the Committee, urged the Committee to postpone its assignment till the end of the investigation initiated by the Presidency.
The Committee had on the 9th May, 2017 issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the suspended Director General of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ayo Oke to appear clarify his role in the N13 billion warehoused in Osborne apartment, Ikoyi Lagos.
Also summoned by the committee are: Godwin Emefiele, Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); General Babagana Monguno and Ibrahim Magu, acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
