The House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs has called on security agencies to investigate and prosecute the authors of a “Non-Paper” petition, accusing the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of monumental corruption.
The Chairman of the committee, Rep. Yusuf Buba (APC-Adamawa) made the call in a statement on Wednesday after the committee interfaced with the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr Gabriel Aduda in Abuja.
According to him, the entire petition which held itself as a “Non- Paper”, with no authors and signatures was a mere calculated attempt by a faceless group hiding under the banner of a pressure group to halt the ongoing reforms.
Buba said that the reform is dealing with the many years of suspected systemic corruption and official malfeasance in the ministry.
He described the petition as an attempt to thwart every move to sanitise the operations of the ministry’s headquarters and the foreign missions abroad in order to continue to maintain their vicious grip on the ministry.
The lawmaker said that no group should be allowed to make such weighty allegations in public without putting their names to the document.
The lawmaker said that the writers of the faceless petition had sought nothing positive to achieve other than to maliciously malign the characters of the leadership of the ministry and the nation at large.
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“Part of the allegations contained in the so- called petition dealt extensively with the fiscal years of 2018, 2019 and 2020 respectively.
“Members, therefore, wondered why Aduda, who assumed duties in January 2021 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after his redeployment from the Ministry of Sports and Youth Development, was particularly singled out for castigation and indictment.
“The committee calls on the security agencies to fish out the authors of the petition, which members observed, sought to place the image of the ministry and by extension, that of the entire Nigerian nation, in bad light globally.
“We laud the current efforts, amidst great challenges, that have been made to promote the mandate of the ministry and drive President Buhari’s reforms agenda by Aduda.
“He has indeed, pointed out the way he intends to go in actualising the dreams of the National Assembly for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“As a result, the committee, unanimously commends the permanent secretary for his dogged commitment to upholding the reforms of President Buhari at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,’’ he said.
Buba said that the committee condemned in very strong terms the mischief and malicious damage contained in the said “Non – Paper”.
According to him, some of these suspected corrupt acts and alleged official malfeasance, as is well-known, have been the infamous subjects of recent investigations by the National Assembly.
Buba said that information available to the committee by independent sources, showed a long retinue of accomplices and benefactors inside and outside the Ministry.
He, however, called for a forensic audit on the finances of the Ministry in those fiscal years 2018, 2019 and 2020 with a view to ascertaining the true position of things in relation to the finances of the Ministry in those years.
The statement quoted Aduda to have described the petition as unfortunate saying that it came at a time efforts were being made to put things in their proper places in the ministry.
Aduda thanked committee for its commitment to ensuring that things were done right in the ministry, promising to do everything necessary to put the ministry in the right order.
He pledged to continue to reposition the ministry towards achieving its mandate and role of promoting the image of the nation through their representational mission of the country in the global community.