The Ad-hoc Committee of the House of Representatives investigating job racketeering in Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) has distanced itself from the alleged extortion of agencies.
An online media had accused a member of the committee of the practice, but in his reaction to the report on Tuesday, Chairman of the committee, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, issued a summon to all the Vice Chancellors of Federal Universities to appear on Friday to give documentary evidences on the allegation bothering on bribery and extortion.
While arguing that the author of the online report titled: ‘Nigerian lawmakers probing job racketeering are extorting money from agencies’, was being unfair to tag all the 37-members of the ad-hoc committee as ‘corrupt’,, insisting that the Ad-hoc Committee will not be deterred by any form of sponsored blackmail.
“Regarding to what we are hearing and what we are seeing is first to tell Nigerians that this Committee is not going to be deterred in discharging its responsibility. Nigerians have hope in this Committee from.the way we are conducting the business of this Committee, everybody is seeing what we are doing.
“We will not compromise by hiding and aiding irregularities going on in the public service.
“No amount of statement accusing this Committee will deter us from doing our job.
“You may have your problem with a member of this Committee but don’t blackmail the entire Committee.
“I’m saying this because I am not being accused of doing anything, but you have issues that you want to make publication about a member of this Committee, sort it out with him, don’t put anything at the faces of members of this Committee.
“We are determined to do justice to Nigerians in the course of this investigation.
“My only appeal to the members of the Fourth Estate of the Realm the Press is that let us be credible Journalists. If you have anything to say about us be categorical. Don’t accuse my Members blindly. Tell us who is accusing who, instead of tagging this Committee as a corrupt Committee.
“It’s unacceptable to us, we are not and we will never be. Nigerians have hope in us and this will be the first in the history of the National Assembly that you will see a mind blowing recommendations that is aimed and targeted at cleaning our public service….”, he said.