The subsidy probe shenanigan

By Paul Arhewe

L-R:  Farouk, Otedola

Barely two months after the chair-man of the Committee on Capital Markets, Herman Hembe and his members were floored by inappropriate dirty dealing, subsequently suspended and facing prosecution, another hot sleaze has sprouted in the House of Representatives. Its ripples are cascading like waves across the length and breadth of Nigeria. The full blown pay-$3m-and-get-re-prieve scandal that pitted the oil mogul, Femi Otedola against the chairman, House Ad Hoc Committee on oil subsidy payment, Farouk Lawan, is no doubt a precedent I would always want to recur. From the fallout, I know those who are in the habit of soliciting for bribes be-fore dispensing favours would now have cause to think twice. In another vein, could this be another flash in the pan, a decoy? Lawan, before this shameful revelation, was one of those few members of the National Assembly regarded as experienced, ‘honest’ and frank in his utterances and deeds. For this attribute, he is held in very high esteem. This current revelation has no doubt dampened my spirit, and I believe that of many Nigerians.