Flaws In Chinese Loans Probe Split Reps

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreement probing the various Chinese loans taken by the government since 2000, Rep. Ossai Nicholas Ossai (PDP, Delta) has said that the committee assignment was aimed at protecting the territorial integrity of the Nigeria nation and the future of unborn children.
Ossai said in a statement in Abuja, yesterday, that he asked those who were politicising the committee’s work to hold their peace in the spirit of national interest and security.
He was reacting to a statement credited to a member of the House, Rep Wole Oke (PDP, Osun), faulting the investigative hearing on the bilateral agreements between Nigeria and China, alleging that “the committee was functioning outside of its mandate”.
Ossai said his committee “considers Hon. Wole Oke’s statement to be false in its entirety, unparliamentarily, unpatriotic and does not in any way reflect the trueness of the committee’s mandate and productive outcomes the House Committee have recorded through its legislative oversight engagements on the subject matter.
“The committee will like to clarify that Hon. Wole Oke is not a member of the House Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreements; and thus may not be well acquainted with the mandate of the committee with respect to the on-going public hearing on the bilateral agreements between Nigeria and China including the unique oversight technique adopted by the committee to achieve its goals.