Fred Itua, Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The National Assembly has faulted the graft charge leveled against it by Prof. Attahiru Jega. While the Senate said the position of Jega was not worthy of a response, the House of Representatives dared him to unveil identities of those involved.
Reacting yesterday, spokesman of the Senate, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, said the position of Jega did not represent the facts on ground.
While he maintained that the former electoral umpire was entitled to his opinion, he sarcastically added: “Jega can even change our names to anything he wants. Jega is entitled to his opinion. Whatever he says does not change the facts on grounds. I can’t respond to that. If he likes, let him change our names to anything that suits him.
“This is the beauty of democracy. People can say whatever they want. It is their right to do so. I will not respond to what he has said.”
But the House of Representatives challenged Jega to substantiate his allegation by revealing the identities of corrupt lawmakers
According to House spokesman, Abdulrasak Namdas in a telephone interview with Daily Sun:
“As far as we are concerned, this is just an allegation. We will only take it serious if Jega mentions people’s names. If he is specific on individuals that are notorious for taking bribe, that would be a different thing. But this statement is a blanket statement that we should not be responded to. As far as we are concerned, this is allegation that needs to be proven. Until individuals are mentioned, we will not respond.”