By Joy Odor
The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Arms and Ammunition has summoned the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Attahiru Ibrahim and the Central Bank Governor Mr Godwin Emiefele to clarify issues on the purchase of military Hardware by the Nigerian Army.
They are to appear before the Committee on Wednesday, April 7 and account for the monies released for the purchase of military hardware.
This followed a unanimous adoption of a motion moved by a member of the Committee, Mr Bede Eke from Imo State at its sitting on Monday in Abuja.
Moving the motion, Mr Eke said the summon became necessary following the refusal of the public officers to honour several invitations extended to them by the Committee saying, it was time for the Committee to take hard decisions against the public officers.
The Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Olaide Akinremi from Oyo State told the lawmakers that the Committee expected the Ministries of Finance, Defence, Interior, CBN, COAS and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to appear.
He said the Ministry of Defence had earlier written to the Committee to seek a later date to appear and it was granted but that the Committee had been waiting for three hours for the invited public officers but they failed to show up.
The Chairman explained that the invitations extended to the public officers are in line with section 88 of the 1999 Constitution as amended which confers powers to summon any public officer to appear and give account.
Contributing to the motion, Alh. Ibrahim Aliyu from Sokoto State said the public officer needed to come to terms with the gravity of the investigation and that the Committee has information and documents and was only giving the officers an opportunity for a fair hearing.
The Committee was constituted to investigate the purchase of arms and ammunition by the military and paramilitary in the country
