Corruption: Reps to Probe Orubebe

The House of Representatives yesterday mandated the Joint Committee on Niger Delta and Anti-corruption to investigate alleged corruption and abuse of office levelled against the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Godsday Orubebe. The Anti-corruption Network, an NGO.

The committee is expected to report back to the House within 21 days.

The NGO had at a news conference, alleged corruption and abuse of office against Orubebe.

The resolution emanated from a motion moved by Rep. Segun Odeneye (ACN- Ogun) which was unanimously adopted without debate.

Odeneye said that the motion was brought against the back drop of mounting disclosures of alleged corrupt practices against a sitting minister by some Anti-Corruption outfits in the country.

He urged members to support the motion, saying that the alleged corruption was too weighty to be overlooked.

According to him, Orubebe has paid for so many “phantom projects” and is at present living in a house at Mabushi District of Abuja, built by SETRACO, a construction company.

Oduneye added that SETRACO doubled as Orubebe’s crony.

He said that findings from the Abuja Geographic and Information System (AGIS) revealed that the house belonged to Orubebe against his claim that it was a rented apartment.

“He posited that he was a sitting tenant at his Mabushi multi-billion naira home. “Searches from Abuja Geographic and Information System prove beyond reasonable doubt that the property is not only his but it is in his name,” he said.

The lawmaker said that neither the ICPC nor the EFCC had commenced any investigation on the allegation.

The Deputy Speaker, Mr Emeka Ihedioha, who presided over the session, advised that the matter should not be debated but referred to the relevant committees of the House for investigation.