The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission on Monday said it had invited the former ministers and other public officials allegedly involved in the 10m euro bribe scandal by a German multi-national engineering firm, Siemens AG.
The ICPC, in a statement by its Resident Consultant on Media, Mr. Folu Olamiti, said the invitees would report in person at the office of the commission�s Chairman, Justice Emmanuel Ayoola, in Abuja.
But the statement which was issued barely 24 hours after President Umaru Yar�Adua directed relevant security agencies to investigate the scandal, did not say when the invitees are to appear before comission.
The ex-ministers are Chief Cornelius Adebayo, Dr. Mohammed Bello, and Maj.-Gen. Tajudeen Olarewaju.The fourth former minister, Alhaji Haruna Elewi, is late.
Nine other Nigerians mentioned in the scam, include the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Prof. Jubril Aminu.
Olamiti, in the statement said, �The affected Nigerians are to assist the commission in its investigation.
�Investigation into the Siemens bribery scandal by the commission is a fallout of the October 4, 2007, ruling of a Munich State Court against Siemens Telecommunications indicting 77 persons in three countries.
�The letter of invitation to the affected prominent Nigerians will assist the commission unravel the involvement or otherwise of the Nigerians mentioned in the alleged bribery scandal.
�Other Nigerians mentioned in connection with the scandal have also been advised to report to the commission�s office with necessary documents that will assist in the investigation.�
Also in Abuja, the House of Representatives Committee on Communications, threatened to blacklist Siemens if found guilty of offering bribes to secure contracts in Nigeria.
The committee said it would conduct investigations into the scam and sanction anybody found guilty.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr. Jerry Manwe, stated this while briefing journalists at the National
Assembly Complex on Monday.
According to him, the committee will invite all the accused and officials of Siemens in order to get to the root of the scandal.
He said such allegations, if proven to be true, would open doors to further investigations of similar projects in the communications sector, especially on the moribund rural telephony project .
He said, �We, in the Committee on Communications, feel so embarrassed by the monumental allegations, above all, at the calibre of individuals accused.
�We will take a keener look at this matter and come to conclusions. The committee, after due consultation, will invite everybody who was accused, including the management of the company, to appear before us.
�We will dig into the matter and let Nigerians know the truth. We will try to ascertain the level of involvement of all of them, including the company and if we find any of them guilty, we will recommend their prosecution and the blacklisting of the company from doing business in Nigeria.
�The committee will even have to extend the level of its probe to other similar agencies, especially on the rural telephony project, which has not functioned since inception. It is possible this is why most of our companies have not been able to function properly.�
In his reaction on Monday night, Adebayo said, �My attention has been drawn to media reports as it affects Siemens in Nigeria, wherein my name has been mentioned with the allegation of collecting bribe at some �unknown time after 2002�.
�While the fact remains that I was Minister of Communications between July 2003 and August 2006.
�I wish to state very clearly that I never demanded, neither did I receive, bribe from officials of Siemens or of any other company in the discharge of my responsibilities.
�I have had an unblemished career in the public service spanning almost four decades, I have a reputation for integrity and I am under no political pressure so I fail to understand what temptation remained that I could not overcome well after age 60.
�It is gratifying that President Yar�Adua has directed the security agencies to get to the root of this matter and I am confident that when that process is completed, this unjustified and unjustifiable stain will be removed from my hard-earned name.�
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Bar Association and the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Prof Pat Utomi, have commended Yar�Adua for ordering a probe into the Siemens bribe scandal.
They said on Monday in Lagos, that the revelations of the Siemens and Wilbros scandals were enough indications that many Nigerian leaders were neck-deep in corporate corruption.
They, therefore, advised the Federal Government to ensure that those indicted were prosecuted accordingly.
The NBA, in a letter dated November 19 and addressed to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Mike Aondoakaa (SAN), said, �We are happy to note that the President has restated his policy of zero-tolerance on corruption.
�We would like to see the prosecution of corrupt public officers pursued more aggressively and in a more transparent manner.
�All those implicated in the Wilbros, Siemens and other recent and current scandals should be quickly, efficiently and aggressively dealt with.
�We agree with Mr. President, but believe that to attain the goal which he has set for the nation, there is a need to revamp Nigeria�s entire anti-corruption strategy, especially in the light of the scope of endemic corruption plaguing our nation.
�The EFCC has done a lot of work in investigating and prosecuting corrupt politicians and others. But a lot more remains to be done.�
The NBA recommended that an Assets Recovery Agency be set up by the Federal Government .
The agency, according to the the association, should be backed up with �a legislation that would deal with proceeds of crime – their monitoring, tracing and seizure.�
It added that Nigeria should adopt the United Nations� manual on anti-corruption policy.
The manual, said the NBA, should show �the interlocking administrative arrangements among relevant agencies in a way that should benefit the country in its multi-agency attack on corruption�.
Utomi, at a media briefing in Lagos, said that Nigeria could not develop because most of its leaders compromise by lining their pockets with bribes from multinational companies and their agents.
He said,�All Nigerian public officials indicted both in the past and present for one corrupt practice or the other must be banished from the public arena.
�Nigeria cannot afford to suffer the shame of corruption anymore.
Thus there is the need for collective action against anyone indicted or implicated for corrupt practices�
�The civil society must be prepared to bully out these corrupt officials and insist on accountability from public office holders��
He said that now that European and American countries have beamed their searchlight on corporate bribe givers, it was also necessary for the Federal Government not to relent in its efforts to ensure that those found guilty were treated appropriately.
He said, �The 10m Euros bribe is a tip of the iceberg even for those companies, as more are bound to unfold.
�The West has woken up to hold bribe givers responsible and Nigeria must follow suit by confronting such people/companies.��
Nov202007