Senate committee re-invites CCB chair to appear October 6 over alleged corruption
The chairman, Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Professor Mohammed Isah, is to appear before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions Thursday to answer to allegations of corruption leveled against him by six federal commissioners co-running the anti-corruption agency.
The commissioners, led by Dr Emmanuel Attah, had in a joint petition to the Senate committee, alleged that the embattled chairman of CCB has in the last four years been blocking required investigations on petitions against public officers with multimillion and billion Naira assets, not stated in their assets declaration forms.
On the strength of the allegations against him, the CCB chairman was to appear before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions last Friday but was absent while five out of the six commissioners were present.
Following his absence, the chairman of the committee, Senator Ayo Akinyelure (PDP Ondo Central) with the consent of other members, directed Professor Isah to appear before the committee unfailingly on Thursday, 6th October, 2022 by 2:00pm.
“The petition before this committee on allegations against the Chairman of Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) bordering on corrupt practices is worrisome and must be here to defend himself.
“The seriousness of the matter lies on the fact that the petitioners are even the six federal commissioners appointed to be working with him in the fight against corruption.
“The Commissioners are here but the Chairman who is in the eye of the storm is not here. We have gone through all the issues raised in the jointly signed petition by the Commissioners and they are very disturbing if eventually proven.
“Therefore for fair hearing, we are re – inviting the Chairman to appear before this committee on Thursday, 6th October, 2022 unfailingly by 2:00pm prompt for require response or responses from him on all allegations leveled against him in the petition,” he said.
Speaking to journalists after the adjourned session, one of the commissioners, Hon Ehiozuwa Agbonayinma along with others, said they petitioned the chairman to save CCB from self – inflicted incapacitation slammed on it by the chairman.
“The chairman, based on his conducts, is not ready to fight the war in anyway but sabotage it by sitting on series of petitions written against corrupt public officers whose assets far outweigh what were declared in the Assets Declaration Forms.
“The N109billion loot linked to the now investigated Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, was first reported to CCB through petitions but prevented from being acted upon by the chairman,” he alleged.
Other Commissioners with him at the press interview were Professor Folorunsho Ogundare, Elder Ubolo Okpanachi, and Barrister Ben Nnana.
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