The House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes has given Ola Olukoyede, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), till July 30 to appear before it over budgetary allocation issues.
The committee said Mr Olukoyede and his management team should appear to answer questions relating to the commission’s budget performance and its challenges.
Rep. Obinna Onwusibe, the committee chairman, expressed the panel’s displeasure at an oversight of the commission’s office in Abuja.
The committee condemned what it described as the snobbish attitude of the chairman and the denial of the committee’s members access to the commission’s complex.
Following the denial of access to the commission’s complex, the committee members returned to the National Assembly.
The committee visited the EFCC headquarters after communicating with the anti-graft agency and agreeing on a date for an oversight visit. The committee was, however, surprisingly told that the chairman was called for an unexplained emergency development at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Reacting, the committee chairman said, “In performing our constitutional functions, we had written to the EFCC for this oversight visit.
“The latest letter to EFCC was last week and we all agreed that the oversight is going to be today. The essence of the oversight is for the committee to know the budget performance of the EFCC as appropriated by this national assembly.
“That was exactly why we went and to also see other things, including the challenges being faced by the EFCC.”
He said the committee had requested that the EFCC chairman and all the zonal commanders be invited on Friday so lawmakers could interface with them.
“But, the committee also saw that they were not on ground,” he said.
However, the committee resolved that it would not continue with the oversight and resolved to summon the EFCC chairman and his team to appear before it.
“As far as we’re concerned, the functions and integrity of this 10th National Assembly cannot be taken for granted.
“We’ve written severally to the commission, requesting information and documents, and we are yet to get them,” he said.
(NAN)
