(http://www.theinfostride.com/images/resized/images/stories/senators/Resized/david%20mark3-500_280_213_46x35.gif) The Senate said it is wrong and abnormal for any committee of the National Assembly to seek financial assistance from ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) it intends to probe. Addressing journalists yesterday at the National Assembly Complex, Senate spokesman Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia South) however said the MDAs could volunteer to help a committee build capacity that would facilitate a probe.
"Our rules are clear on public hearings. The process starts from plenary sessions either through a motion or a bill. When a committee is informed of the necessity for a public hearing, it will articulate its budget and submit same to the principal officers of either the House of Representatives or the Senate.
"The principal officers normally approve the budget after which the clerk, who is the accounting officer, will then go and collect the budget for use. So, it is not normal, and it is not our practice for a committee to go and seek financial assistance from any of the MDAs it intends to probe. We don't seek such assistance.
"On the other hand, some committees, in terms of building capacity, may have assistance from these MDAs. It would be recalled that the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms. Arunma Oteh, alleged that she facilitated for the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market, Herman Hembe to go and build capacity. You cannot supervise a technical area like the capital market without knowing what it is all about," he said.
Abaribe said the National Assembly would ask the Inspector General of Police to order the arrest of heads of government agencies shunning public hearing.
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Daily Trust