From Kola Ologbondiyan, Ahamefula Ogbu in Abuja and Francis Ugwoke in Lagos, 03.30.2005

THISDAY gathered that the PDP leadership which communicated its decision to Wabara last night may be acting on the directive of the Presidency.

THISDAY gathered that the Justice Ministry may be asked to get a court warrant for Wabara’s arrest.

Asked how the Senate President would be arrested, a source asked rhetorically, “Is it not from the court that you get a warrant of arrest?”
The new twist in the bribe-for-budget scandal is said to be the party's response to the Senate President's double strategy of buying time to either persuade President Olusegun Obasanjo to forgive him or rally senators to present a common front against the presidency.

A source close to the party said the PDP decided to act tough on the issue after getting the feeler that Wabara has been insisting on waiting for the report of Senate Committee on Ethics probing the extent of his involvement in the scandal.

Today, PDP National Chairman Dr. Ahmadu Ali and other top members of the Central Working Committee (CWC) will hold separate meetings with the party's caucuses in the House of Representatives and Senate.

The decision to force Wabara to throw in the towel before the meetings is to enable the party commence discussions on who will be the next senate president and how to rebuild party unity in the National Assembly in the face of the damaging crisis.

It is believed the NWC team will also use the meetings to explain why Wabara has to leave office, and initimate the legislators with the President's position.

President Obasanjo had in a nationwide broadcast accused the Senate President and some members of the National Assembly of having received bribe from sacked Education Minister, Prof. Fabian Osuji so as to induce them to jerk up the ministry's budget. The National Assembly reacted by saying that the President's accusation amounted to denigrating the whole institution of the National Assembly.

The source said the PDP team will explain to the PDP lawmakers that Obasanjo is not out to ridicule the National Assembly.

However, the House of Representatives may be set on a collision course with the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu who was said to have shunned the invitation to testify before the committee on ethics probing the involvement of some of its members in the bribe-for-budget scandal.

The Committee on privileges had waited for the arrival of Ribadu from 2pm till about 4pm when its Chairman, Hon. Bello Mutawale, told the press that they had a letter to the effect that the EFCC boss may no longer be coming.
Mutawale admitted that the letter from EFCC also referred to a plan by Ribadu to "submit a comprehensive report to the House through appropriate channel as soon as investigations are concluded."

He however dismissed, the position of the EFCC as "Besides the point," adding, "Submitting a comprehensive report is besides the point, and indeed, a secondary issue. Invitation by a parliament to any public officer, particularly for a matter of the magnitude under reference, is a sacred duty that must be honoured."

He said since there was an indication that Ribadu was out of town, the committee would give him a new date to appear to answer their questions before taking evidence from Hon. Osita Izunaso who was named in the N15 million bribe given by the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri.
"In the meantime, the Committee is expecting Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to confirm his new preferred date of appearance as soon as possible to enable the Committee meet its two-week deadline," he said.

But, one of the key characters in the scandal, House Committee on Education Chairman, Hon. Garba Matazu, showed up in the House yesterday and said that he was not involved in any of the bribes alleged to have been given to him and his colleagues in the Senate.

According to him, “By all standards, I do not know anything about it. I even swore with the Holy Koran especially about the N10 million which I was alleged to have been given by the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, honestly I don’t know anything about it”.

He admitted swearing by Allah when he fielded questions from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Voice of America (VOA) and insisted that it was because of the fact that he did not know anything about what was being alleged against him.

Matazu denied that he has been invited by the EFCC or any other investigative organ. He added that he was only aware of the allegations through the media when he was on an assignment to Malaysia.

On the N55 million bribe alleged to have been collected from the Ministry of Education, part of which was given to him, he denied and said “If there is anybody who said he has given me N55 million, let him come and say when, where and how he gave me the N55 million and who is his witness”. Matazu said the allegation sounded foolish and for which nobody should be worried about.
“Since I came to the National Assembly in 1999, I have never sat with Suswam and Izunaso in one place, all the three of us except during meetings of Chairmen of Committees”, he said.

On what he intends to do, he said he would not go to court but would await the decision of the House and his party. "Nobody up till now I am talking to you has invited me to anywhere and I am willing and ready to present myself to any constituted legal institution," he said.

Having been Chairman of the Committee since 1999, he said he knew all the Vice Chancellors of federal universities and recalled that the last time he met Professor Njoku of FUTO was in 1999 during a conference with the Vice Chancellors and Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission.
Also yesterday, unconfirmed reports stated that the House Chairman on Appropriations, Hon. Gabriel Suswam, was sighted at the EFCC office but attempts to confirm what transpired between him and the commission was not successful as at press time.

Meanwhile, Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Peter Okebukola has absolved himself and his Commission of involvement in the bribe-for-budget scandal.

Okebukola who was queried by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Ufot Ekaette, to explain his role in the bribe scandal, said what his Commission gave out to the Ministry of Education was a loan.
He explained that the Minister of Education had written to request for a N20 million loan which his Commission, after a management meeting, approved as requested.

In his letter dated March 24, the same day that he was querried, Okebukola said: "On 3rd December 2004, I received a letter from the Honourable Minister of Education requesting the Commission to loan the Federal Ministry of Education the sum of N20 million only to deal with an emergency situation that has just developed in Suleja Academy".

Osuji had in his letter dated December 3, requested for the loan of N20 million, a copy of which Okebukola attached in his reply to Ekaette.
"On receipt of the letter I called a special meeting of my management to consider the request. Given the directive of the Honourable Minister, management approved the release of the loan", Okebukola wrote.

He explained that in taking the decision to approve the loan, management took cognizance of the statutory relationship between the NUC and the office of the Honourable Minister of Education particularly the provision of the NUC Act with regard to the supervisory functions of the Minister over the Commission.
Noting that Section 4 (2) of the law stipulates that the minister may give the Commission directives of a general character, Okebukola said he simply complied with the directive considering the reason for which the loan was requested.
"It needs to be stressed that the directive of the Honourable Minister to apply for the loan to "deal with an emergency situation that has just developed in Suleja Academy" was adjudged by management to be of general character and legitimate to the extent that it was to address a matter of urgent educational importance. Management could not have approved and did not approve a loan for bribe", he stated.

He maintained that the NUC worked the loan through its financial due process and issued the cheque in anticipation that the money will be applied to dealing with the problem which Osuji stated in his letter. He added that the Commission was expecting a refund of the loan in due course.
He told Ekaette that he believed that by acceding to the Minister's request, both himself and the managment of NUC were obeying a legitimate directive from "a superior officer".