The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, and Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, along with other public officials, are at risk of facing a warrant of arrest from the Senate.
The threat comes after they failed to appear before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions regarding petitions filed against their agencies.
Other agencies whose chief executives may face similar warrants include Union Homes Savings and Loans Plc, Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, and Sally Best Properties Limited.
The Senate’s decision was reached last Wednesday when the Committee’s Chairman, Senator Neda Imasuen (LP Edo South), expressed frustration over the refusal of these public figures to respond to several invitations issued by the committee. The committee sought explanations and defences in response to grievances filed by aggrieved Nigerians and corporate bodies.
Senator Imasuen raised the issue during a motion anchored on Order 42 of the Senate’s standing rules. He lamented that despite repeated invitations, the heads of these agencies ignored the requests, hindering the committee’s ability to address the petitions.
In response, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, granted the committee the mandate to issue arrest warrants if necessary, citing powers granted under Section 89 of the 1999 Constitution.
“You already have the power as provided for by Section 89 of the 1999 Constitution. Please use it by issuing a warrant of arrest against any head of agencies refusing to appear before the public petition committee,” Akpabio stated.
The Senate President further emphasized the importance of these appearances to ensure justice and fairness for those who had filed petitions.
Following the Senate’s decision, Senator Imasuen informed journalists that fresh letters of invitation have been dispatched to the concerned agencies, warning that failure to comply would result in the issuance of arrest warrants.
“Fresh letters of invitations have been sent to heads of the affected agencies, upon which warrant of arrest would be issued if any one of them fails to appear,” Imasuen said in a statement released on Sunday.
In addition to this, Imasuen announced that the committee would expedite its review of a petition submitted by Mr. Onyebuchi Obioha regarding the withholding of his daughter’s exam results by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). The complaint alleges that the results were withheld due to a vindictive report filed by an exam supervisor.
