Report of the House of Representatives Committee on Ethics and Privilege which is investigating the alleged $620,000 bribe levelled against embattled former chairman of the House adhoc Committee on Subsidy regime Rep. Farouk Lawan will be submitted to the House on September 19, Rep. Ibrahim Bello, (CPC, Kaduna), has said.
Bello, who is a member of the Ethics and Privileges Committee, told Daily Trust yesterday that the committee was now in the process of writing its report ahead of resumption of the House from its two months recess.
Oil magnate Femi Otedola had admitted to giving Lawan the sum of $620,000 in what he called "sting operation" master minded by the security agencies, but the State Security Service had distant itself from the claim.
Lawan on his part has insisted that he collected the money to be used as evidence against Otedola who offered to bribe him during the subsidy fraud investigation.
On why it took the committee long to submit its report, the lawmaker said, "the time giving to us was very short because from some of the testimonies given, we had to recall back some of the people who appeared before us including Farouk Lawan to clear himself before Adams Jagaba and that came at the eve of our recess and there was no way we would have written the report and submit before proceeding for the recess."
The House had on Friday, June 15 held a special session during which it sacked Lawan from chairmanship of the subsidy committee and suspended him from chairing the education committee in addition to mandating the Ethics and Privileges Committee to investigate the bribery allegation.
Daily Trust