Alleged Forgery: Buhari's aides not witnessing against Senate - Enang

...Apologizes over offensive comments

 

Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly matters, Sena­tor Solomon Ita Enang has de­bunked claims that the aides to President Muhammadu Buha­ri have been lined up to testi­fy against the leadership of the Senate in the ongoing trial of the Senate President, Abuba­kar Bukola Saraki, his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu and two oth­ers over alleged forgery of Sen­ate Rules.

Enang made the clarifica­tion in Abuja on Friday say­ing that he could not have been hired by his principal to wit­ness against the Senate lead­ership when he was initially arrested as an accused in the forgery allegation by the office of the Deputy Inspector Gener­al of Police prior to his appoint­ment as Special Assistant to the President on National Assem­bly matters.

He said: “Further to false publications and insinuations that Presidential Aides have been Iined up against the pre­siding officers of the Senate and others in the prosecution relat­ing to the Standing Orders of the Senate 2015 citing me as one of those thus lined up, l hereby state as hereunder;

“That this is false in all ma­terial particulars.

“That I was the Chairman of the RULES AND BUSINEES COMMITTEE of the 7th Senate which ended plenary on June 4, 2015 and the 8th Senate was in­augurated on June 9, 2015.

“That upon a written peti­tion to the police on the sub­ject of alleged forgery of the Standing Orders by some dis­tinguished Senators of the 8th Senate, the lnspector Gener­al of Police through one DIG Dan Azumi J. Doma wrote to the Clerk to the National As­sembly vide his letter dated July 1, 2015 requesting him to ask the under mentioned key offi­cials of the 7th Senate to have an audience with the undersigned on or before 6th July 2015;

“Senate President, Depu­ty Senate President, Majority Leader of the Senate, Clerk of the National Assembly, Clerk of the Senate Chairman‚ Business and Rules and Secretary, Busi­ness and Rules Committee.”

He said it would be wrong for anyone to misconstrue his current involvement as a wit­ness in the alleged forgery tri­al of the leadership of the Sen­ate, noting that his part in the case was to testify as a former chairman, Senate Committee on Business and Rules in the 7th Senate.

Continuing Enang said: “Further to the above, l, on July 3rd, 2015 met with the police who confronted me with alle­gation that I am suspected to have amended or printed the Standing Orders in issue be­ing the Chairman of Rules and Business Committee of the 7th Senate. l was asked to make a written statement on the mat­ter and I did on the said July 3rd 2015 denying the allegation.

“That it was from the state­ment of other persons of in­terest, after my statement that the police may have formed an opinion as to who did what, ex­onerating me, but rather listed me as a witness to the procedure for amendment, having made a statement on the matter.

“That all these courses of events occurred prior to and in­dependent of my appointment as SSA to the President in late AUGUST 2015.

“That l am not mentioned in the process as an aide in the presidency as wrongly misrep­resented but as former chair of Rules and Business Committee of the defunct 7th Senate.”

He added that since his in­vitation to give a written state­ment on the forgery case, he has not tendered any other state­ment to the Police on the mat­ter.

“That l have not made any other statement in this mat­ter subsequent to that made on July on 3, 2015. May all be please guided,” the Presidential Aide noted.

On the unguarded utter­ances of the Special Assistant to President Buhari on Public Pr

osecution, Mr Okoi Obono -Oblo against the Senate com­mittee on Judiciary, Human Rights and legal matters, En­ang apologized to the upper chamber.

He said: I heard the state­ment by the Special Assistant to President on Public Prose­cution, Mr Okoi Obono-Oblo and I want to apologize to dis­tinguished Senate, to the Com­mittee on Judiciary and to the distinguished Senators because that statement ought not to have been made and the Attorney General is the Attorney-Gen­eral of the Federation, appoint­ed by the President and cleared by the Senate and responsible to the Federation.” -culled from The Authority