OBJ, Atiku may shun power probe panel

Idowu Samuel, Abuja - 12.05.2008

FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo may not appear before the House of Representatives’ committee probing the power sector despite his earlier reported assurance of doing so.

Also, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar may not be able to appear before the panel as he is currently out of the country and may not return today from his trip.

Findings by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that the former president had been advised by close associates both within and outside Abuja not to show up at the National Assembly so that he could preserve his status as former president.

In the same vein, the media consultant to the former vice president, Mallam Garba Shehu, confirmed that Atiku had flight problems and might return to Nigeria before the end of the week.

He said Atiku would prefer to stay back in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, if he did not get a proper clearance that he should come, disclosing that he had up till last weekend continued to receive calls from even some members of the House of Representatives not to bother about coming to Nigeria.

“We are of the view that the public hearing is no longer going ahead. We have been told to advise the former vice president not to bother about rushing back home. Indeed, Honourable Elumelu said he would communicate his position on the public hearing with us later.

“We should mention that Atiku is ever ready to appear at the public hearing, but he at the moment had flight difficulties and would be in Nigeria later in the week all things being equal. The most important thing is that Atiku would be in Nigeria anytime the committee is ready to have him,” he said.

It was also confirmed at the weekend that the leadership of the House of Representatives was already at loggerheads with the Godwin Elumelu panel for summoning both Obasanjo and Atiku Abubakar without carrying it along.

Members of the House of Representatives, who did not want to be quoted for security reasons, said that the House leadership had taken a position that the Elumelu committee would have to follow due process in order to bring the two former leaders to the public hearing scheduled for today.

It was learnt that the House leadership was quarrelling with the committee that the manner it served both Obasanjo and Atiku the summons, belittled their status as former president and deputy, and that the letter was written and dispatched to them by the committee clerk, Mallam S.Y. Ahmed.

The position of the House leadership, as sources revealed, was that the clerk of the House of Representatives rather than that of the committee should have prepared the letter of summon and dispatched them with the leadership’s endorsement in order to carry the necessary weight.

It was against this background that calls were placed to both Obasanjo and Atiku not to bother about coming to Abuja, an indication that the Elumelu committee would follow due process in summoning the two and has to postpone the public hearing for them.

Obasanjo, through one of his aides, had last week complained that he was yet to receive the letter of summon purportedly sent to him by the committee, stressing that he even detailed his aides to receive the letter at his Otta Farm House, though he was in Abeokuta.

In the same vein, Atiku, who travelled out last week, had complained that he did not receive the letter sent to him before leaving Nigeria, although the letter of summon, dated May 3, 2008, should have reached him two days before he left.