Senator Ita Enang
The Presidency has apologised to the
Senate over the comment of the Representative of the Attorney-General of
the Federation at a meeting with the Committee on Judiciary, Human
Rights and Legal Matters.
Senator Ita Enang,
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Legislative Matters
(Senate), tendered the apology while fielding questions from journalists
in Abuja on Friday.
Enang said that it was wrong for the Attorney-General’s representative Okoi Obono-Obla to have said that the Senate had no right to have invited the Attorney-General, Abubakar Malami.
“I heard the statements after and I
want to apologise to the Distinguished Senate, to the Committee on
Judiciary and to the distinguished senators.
That statement ought not to have
been made: the Attorney General is Attorney General of the Federation,
appointed by Mr. President, cleared by the Senate and responsible for
the federation.
We are going into this matter, we
will handle this matter but I first have to tender my unreserved apology
for the impression it may have created to the distinguished Senate,
senators and the committee members,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports
that the Senate had on Tuesday summoned Malami to appear before its
Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to explain why he
charged to court Senate President Bukola Saraki and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu for alleged forgery.
The AGF was represented by the Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution attached to the Federal Ministry of Justice, Okoi Obono-Obla.
Obono-Obla told the Senate Committee that it lacked the power to summon him,
The committee then walked Obono-Obla out
of the chamber saying: “Our invitation is for the AGF and not you. So,
we cannot listen to you. We will report back to the plenary for us to
take decision on this”.
Obono-Obla, who spoke to journalists
while leaving the Senate chamber, said the alleged forgery suit against
Saraki and Ekweremadu, is not an internal affair of the senate.
Obla in his interview said that “the senate had no right to invite the AGF” and that “the AGF was not answerable to the Senate”.
However, the SSA to President Buhari
reiterated the apology to the Senate adding that the Attorney-General
was unavoidably absent.
“The Attorney General spoke with me
yesterday on the matter in the morning that he is on official assignment
on behalf of the country. When he is in, we will make arrangement for
him to respond appropriately: we want to apologise pending when he
returns to respond appropriately,” he said.
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