Senate spokesperson, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, has said that the full attention which the leadership of the upper chamber was paying to...
Senate spokesperson, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, has said that the full attention which the leadership of the upper chamber was paying to the consideration of the 2016 budget, delayed the request for the issuance of a warrant for the arrest of the immediate past Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Lamorde.
In an interview with the Punch, he explained that since the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions had confirmed making a formal request to the office of the Senate President for the issuance of a warrant for Lamorde’s arrest, necessary actions would be taken in that regard.
He said, “If the committee has made its request to the Senate President, then it is left for somebody also to do his own part because in taking any decision, you must look at what the rules and regulations say.
“We must follow the procedure. It has certain basic things that must be met, perhaps, I want to believe that they are still in the process of doing what has to be done.
“What is our worry now is the budget. If when we have not passed the budget we are now expending energy on how somebody who had gone on ‘AWOL’ is brought back, people will accuse us of not being serious with the welfare of Nigerians.
“Right now we are concentrating our energy on what is key to Nigeria, which is the budget; which itself is a process.”
The committee also recommended that a warrant of arrest be issued by the senate for Larmode’s arrest.
Citing necessary constitutional provisions, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, said the ethics committee was supposed to forward a request to the Senate President who would, in turn, issue a directive to the Inspector General of Police.
The Senate President, Bukola Sarski, agreed with his deputy’s submission as he ruled that the committee should do the right thing to get the warrant of arrest issued on Larmode.
