21st November, 2015
Senate’s Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition, has said it would not do the bidding of Senate President, Bukola Saraki against Code of Conduct Tribunal Chairman, Danladi Umar.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Sam Anyanwu (PDP-Imo East), stated this while reacting to allegations that the committee would likely do the biddings of Saraki, who is standing trial before CCT over alleged false declaration of assets.
Anyanwu told NAN in Abuja that the committee owed Nigerians and nobody else, the responsibility to treat the petition on merit.
According to him, the fact that the petition is coming at a time when Saraki is standing trial at the CCT will not stop the committee from carrying out its constitutional responsibility creditably. “Once the petition against Danladi is sent to our secretariat, we will take a look at it, and be rest assured that if we find nothing in the petition, of course, we will write our report.
“I want to say that I am not doing anybody’s bidding; I have the capacity and I make researches and I have time for fact-finding and come out with a position.
“Why should Saraki use me to do his bidding? Why would Saraki use any senator to do his bidding?
“He is my colleague; he is just the Senate President, one among equals.
“He was elected by his constituents and my constituents brought me here. So, it not about doing Saraki’s bidding.
“If I have a responsibility to discharge my duty based on the petition because I am Chairman of Ethics and Privileges, I will do it; the most important thing is your conscience,” he said.
The lawmaker said that the National Assembly was determined to support President Muhammadu Buhari in the fight against corruption.
He said that the legislature would stop at nothing to ensure that Nigeria assumed its pride of place in the comity of nations.