LAWANGATE: HOW THE SPEAKER ESCAPED, MORE HEADS TO ROLL IN THE HOUSE

 
Lawangate: How Tambuwal escaped •The lawmakers’ plot that failed •Why Reps quickly moved against Lawan •Bribe money no longer intact? •Lawan to produce $620,000 bribe on Monday, released on bail
by Olawale Rasheed, Taiwo Adisa and Chris Agbambu, Abuja 
As the police authorities arraign Hon Farouk Lawan tomorrow over the $3 million bribery scandal rocking the House of Representatives and the entire country, more facts have emerged on how the leadership of the House defeated an alleged attempt to use the bribery scandal to unseat the leadership of the House even as reports have emerged on why the House leadership caucus decided to dump Lawan.

Findings revealed that the shock and anger among opinion molders within the House over the bribery saga changed after a credible report showed that a group within the lower chamber was already working in tandem with some external forces to unseat the speaker and his deputy at the Friday sitting. The report was said to have been validated when some newspapers directly linked the deputy speaker, Hon Emeka Ihedioha, to the scandal even as alarm was sounded that the two-year ultimatum handed the Speaker to vacate the seat by former President Olusegun Obasanjo was just around the corner. More worrisome before the sitting on Friday, according to reports, was the unusual movement and alleged nocturnal meetings of some members from the South Western region, a region originally designed by the ruling party to produce the House Speaker.

Sunday Tribune was told that prior to the late night meeting of last Thursday among the top leaders of the House, the shock over Lawan’s actions and inactions had given way to how to prevent perceived push to ‘overthrow’ the leadership of the House. Findings showed that that fear led to what a source called the immediate revival of the cult-like machine which originally defied the PDP and the Presidency to install Hon Tambuwal as the speaker of the House and the consequent deployment of its field men across the various caucuses of the House. It was gathered that the brief for the field men was to secure the House while a selected team effected the proceedings as stipulated by the House rules in cases of corruption and misdemeanor by any member of the House.

Sunday Tribune was told that the fear of external plot was so intense that Hon Lawan’s alleged failure to inform the speaker of the bribe offer from Chief Femi Otedola reportedly turned out to be a major saving platform for the Speaker with reports indicating that an inner caucus within the House indeed shielded the Speaker from the bribery offer in anticipation of an impeachment plot. A source privy to the plot but nonetheless close to Hon Farouk disclosed that the speaker was kept in the dark because of the sensitivity of the matter, adding that “if the speaker had been briefed, we would not have been able to defend him and we would not have been able to secure a vote of confidence as we did on Friday”

Further findings revealed that the revival of the power platform that brought Tambuwal to power not only silenced alleged coupists within the House but also led to what a source called a painful decision on Hon Lawan, who is widely reputed to be the pillar of the power caucus within the House. The caucus members were said to have singled out the deletion of Otedola’s company names as the key evidence against their former leader even as they left open the possibility of a resolution in case the marked dollar notes were presented in court by Hon Lawan. Meanwhile, indications emerged on Saturday that the leadership of the House acted fast on the bribery scandal rocking the Hon. Farouk Lawan-led adhoc committee on fuel subsidy scheme in order to stop the crisis from escalating.

“Some of us were embarrassed with claims that oil marketers were made to pay certain sums in hard currency to get themselves cleared during the probe. There was an instance when we confronted the adhoc committee chairman and he denied knowledge of any bribe,” a Rep member said at the weekend. The meetings of Thursday night therefore concluded on the need to suspend Farouk Lawan so as to allow him defend himself. According to sources, opinion gathered by the leadership was to the effect that once its hands are clear in the unfolding matter, it should summon the members and open up at a closed session. But before the closed session, the Speaker and other leaders of the chamber had engaged many of the members on phone conversations, where the issues were thrashed out.

The original idea was to thrash out the issues around the scandal on June 19 when the House was due to resume plenary but it was discovered that 24 hours could be too long to alter things and in order not to give room to mischief makers, the Speaker and the leadership decided to call the emergency meeting for Friday. Sources also confirmed that the diplomacy embarked upon by some top members of the Peoples Democratic Party,(PDP) as a way of saving Hon Farouk Lawan from prosecution fell flat when it was discovered that the embattled lawmaker appeared to have taken certain steps that could turn the whole story around.

“Some chieftains of the PDP were canvassing the need for the security agencies to be careful on the bribe scandal so as not to allow it have negative effect on the party’s election fortunes in Edo and Ondo states later in the year. But it was later discovered that the embattled Hon. member had taken steps which appeared as if he was out to outsmart the investigators. They suspected that his decision to mention the name of the Inspector General of Police when he admitted to collecting the bribe was suspicious and they then decided to move all out against him,” a source said at the weekend. It was also learnt that the difficulty of investigators locating the bribe money said to have been kept as exhibits by Hon. Farouk Lawan is also creating cause for concern for investigators as it was suspected that part of the money might have found their ways into circulation.

“There is the fear that Hon. Lawan has not handed over the money because it is no longer intact and some of the currency have been sold at the parallel market. Efforts are on to retrieve the notes but it appears a huge task,” another source stated at the weekend, adding that the bureau de change people have already transacted with some of the notes. According to the source, the development is apparently responsible for the controversy over the actual amount received as bribe. While Hon Farouk confirmed taking a total of $500,000, he also claimed his committee secretary got $100,000, but Mr. Femi Otedola claimed to have given a total of $620,000, with the committee secretary getting $120,000.

Meanwhile, Hon Farouk Lawan was on Saturday evening granted bail by the police after spending two nights in the cell. The bail which was granted him on self recognition has a proviso that the $620,000 allegedly collected from oil mogul, Femi Otedola, should be produced to the police tomorrow, Monday. Another condition attached to the bail is that he should produce a surety, a Nigerian without criminal record and who owns landed property in Abuja. The embattled lawmaker, wearing a white caftan, looked dejected and quietly walked out of the police cell at exactly 5:20 p.m. into a waiting car and was driven away to an unknown destination. Informed police sources from the police special task force told Sunday Tribune that investigation has progressed considerably and that more information has been gathered from the lawmaker which has opened a new dimension into the whole scandal.

The police source disclosed that Lawan had always alleged that the money given him by Otedola was a set up and that he never approached him for any gratification but since the whole saga has turned out this way, he is ready to defend himself in the law court whenever necessary. He also alleged that he was not the only member that was involved in the whole saga but since he has become the sacrificial lamb, he is ready to face the music. The police source added that more members of the Lawan committee might be invited as investigation continues because some names were also mentioned. On who reported the issue to the police, the source said it was Otedola who first raised alarm about the bribery scandal, hence he came voluntarily to make statement to the police.