The
minister was invited to appear before the committee to explain why he
ordered the removal of the Director General of the National Information
Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Peter Jack via suspension and
appointing an acting DG in breach of the NITDA Act.
However
at the committee sitting, the minister stoked the anger of the members
when he unilaterally told them he does not understand why he was
invited, just as he sought express permission to leave the meeting
because he had other important state issues to attend to.
The
minister made the gaffe when he went beyond his brief, preferring to
make comments when he was only asked to introduced himself to the
committee members in accordance with the practice in the parliament.
The
member were angered when he told them he was in the blank as to why he
had to appear before the joint Committee despite admitting that he got a
letter of invitation to the effect.
Breaching
further rules and conventional practice of the parliament, the minister
who said he had been a lawmaker himself at the Oyo State House of
Assembly from 1979 to 1983 went ahead to state his confusion about the
setting as he claimed he had no information whatsoever why he has
invited, when he was only asked to introduce himself.
He
said: “My name is Abdulraheem Adebayo Shittu. I’m here almost blank as
to why I’m here. I don’t have information why I was asked to come. And
I’m hoping that members will tell me. As I speak, there’s a conference
at Transcorp where I’m to represent Nigeria in the midst of many
international bodies and foreign players”.
“I also
have another meeting with Mr President and some foreign investors. And
as you all know, Nigeria lacks the necessary capacity to fund investment
in the ICT sector, so I’m appealing that I have all the questions so I
can go and look at them, get necessary information and provide answers
as appropriately on another date”, he said.
This
submission by the minister angered some lawmakers who felt the minister
was either not prepared for the discussion, or was simply being
economical with the truth about the invitation sent to his office.
On
the allegation that he was not informed of the reason why he came, the
co-chairman of the committee, Hon, Saheed Akinade Fijabi reminded the
minister whilst displaying a letter sent to his office which was
received and duly acknowledged with a copy of it sent back to the
Committee.
Hon. Linus Okorie also frowned at the
liberty taken by the minister to make his case when he was only invited
to introduce himself.
He said: “The committee
chairman was supposed to have opened the discussion before the minister
would have responded by making his appeal as appropriate”.
He
expressed dismay that the minister would feign ignorance of the reason
for his presence, adding that either the minister was playing pranks on
the committee which is tantamount to disrespecting the National
Assembly, or some people in his office were simply being incompetent as
to keep him informed.
Hon. Kehinde Odeneye concored
with Linus Okorie but pleaded with his colleagues to give the minister
another opportunity to prepare and then brief the committee properly.
At
this point, the minister realising the full weight of his indiscretion
admitted receiving the letter of invitation, saying: “I want to
apologise for any misconception. A letter was brought to my office
yesterday with a heading relating the suspension of the DG NITDA. And I
liaised with my Permanent Secretary to get back to the committee Clerk
so as to work out the possibility of re-adjusting the date – given the
number of engagements I’m to have with the several groups on behalf of
the President.
At this point, newsmen were asked to depart the venue of the meeting to enable them interact at an executive session.
Briefing
journalists in his office, at the end of the meeting, the Chairman of
the joint Committee, Hon. Mohammed Onawo said that the joint committee
was to meet the minister to attend to an assignment given to them to
interact with him on the perceived injustice metted out to the suspended
DG of NITDA.
“We
would have had the interface where the minister and his team would
provide necessary information regarding their action in line with
relevant laws.
“But
as humans, we have to listen to his plea for lack of preparation for
the discussion. But not on the ground that he was not informed as he
earlier claimed, because that is certainly not tenable.
“We
are not carrying out a normal committee assignment, but only enforcing a
resolution of the House which mandated the joint committees on ICT and
TeleCommunication to invite the minister to state his role in the
alleged unlawful suspension of the DG NITDA and the appointment of
another in acting capacity whether it all followed due process of laws
establishing the agency as a statutory body”, he said.
The meeting has been adjourned to next week.
End.
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