AC denies instigating Etteh�s predicament
Posted by From GODWIN TSA ABUJA on 2007/10/05 | Views: 495 |
The Action Congress (AC) has denied published reports that it was behind the monumental scandal in which the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mrs. Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, has enmeshed herself.
In a statement in Abuja on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party slammed the so-called civil society groups, which made the allegation in a statement, describing them as cash and carry groups with no interest in furtherance the cause of democracy or ensuring probity in public office.
�Saying the report of the Idoko panel that indicted Mrs. Etteh was �masterminded by the AC as a way of destabilizing the PDP-led government is, to say the least, a cheap shot and an irresponsible and provocative statement.
�If these groups had any modicum of common sense, they would have known that the AC, with less than 10 per cent of the House membership, could not have mustered such clout as to �mastermind� the report of a panel that comprised mostly PDP lawmakers and only 1 AC legislator.
�Is it the AC that pushed the Speaker to award such huge contracts without following due process? Did we ask the Speaker to award part of the contract to her Special Assistant, who happened to be a director of one of the unregistered companies?
�Are we back in the Abacha era, when the ghost of the opposition hunted the government to such an extent that it needed an exorcist? How much did the groups collect from the fallen Speaker to have propelled them to lose their heads and level such an incomprehensible allegation?� the party queried.
AC said the action of the faceless groups had confirmed fears that the Speaker, who has so far refused to follow the path of honour by resigning, would continue to use public funds to fight a lost battle to stay in the saddle.
�It has also given some weight to the allegations that the Speaker is dangling half a million dollars of public funds to malleable and greedy individuals and groups in an effort to kill the report,� the party said.
AC reiterated its earlier call, which has been echoed by individuals and groups, on Mrs. Etteh to step down immediately to save whatever is left of her integrity and preserve the office of the Speaker.