Clerk: Bankole rejected advice

Bankole

Former Speaker Dimeji Bankole took loans for the payment of members’ allowances to avoid impeachment, House Clerk Mohammed Ataba Sani-Omolori has said.
The Clerk said the leadership of the House bowed to pressure from members who insisted that “if the leadership does not announce the date of payment of the running cost, they were all going to be removed”.
Bankole and his erstwhile deputy, Usman Nafada, are on trial over the way they ran the financial affairs of the House.
They were granted bail at the weekend after being remanded in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) custody.
The Clerk’s clarifications, in a statement made to the EFCC, have been attached to the Proof of Evidence before the court. 

Both the prosecution and the defence counsel have the Proof of Evidence, which was obtained from the court by our correspondent. 
Sani-Omolori gave a comprehensive insight into the financial transactions in the 6th House of Representatives, especially the controversial loans. 
He said: “In practical terms, the National Assembly has three branches, the Senate, the House of Representatives and the management. The three branches have their separate accounts. 
“In the case of the House, the Hon. Speaker is the approving authority for all expenditure from the House funds. As the Clerk of the House, I am aware in most cases of the memos on the House funds. The signatories to the House Accounts are employees the Finance and Account Department. 
“Whenever the need arose for any expenditure around me, I will write a memo seeking for approval from the Hon. Speaker. He sent it back by writing ‘please process’. 
“On receipt of any such memo, I will forward it to the Clerk of the National Assembly to please direct further.” 
Sani-Omolori explained how the House ran into trouble since 2010 over funds. 
He said: “The budget figure for the House for 2010 eventually came to a figure of N60billion, capital inclusive. There was no supplementary appropriation budget by the House in 2010 but there was an Appropriation (Amendment) by the House in 2010. 
“I am not familiar with the general regulation for obtaining loan by government establishment but aware that the system I met in the House was for the approving authority to endorse taking of loan for specific or general purposes. 
“Sometime in March last year-2010, the House decided to enhance its running cost and therefore set up a 37-man committee, made up of one member per state and the FCT, to review the welfare package, specifically to enhance their running cost and any other welfare. 
“When the ‘37 wise men’ submitted their report to the Executive Session of the House, they were directed to meet with the Clerk to show me the basis and how they intend to fund the increase. 
“I informed them at the meeting that since the budget had been passed, it was only an amendment that can make the funds available. 
“The House resolved that the new running cost must be paid at all cost. The Principal Officers met at a meeting in the Hon. Speaker’s Guest House in Asokoro sometime in May 2010 where the Chairman of the Appropriation Committee, Hon. Ayo Adeseun, promised to reflect the changes that would give legal backing to the new running cost by adjustments in the budget when the Appropriation (amendment) Bill that was being expected come. 
“The Body of Principal Officers resolved to source funds, to meet the members’ demand, from the Senate, the management and the bank. 
“As the ‘37 wise men’ met me through their leader, I wrote a memo to the Hon. Speaker, drawing his attention to the illegality of what they are proposing to do in respect of increasing their running cost without appropriate budget back-up and to also spend the capital funds outside the appropriation. 
“He sent the memo back to me to ensure the rules are followed at all times. Indeed, we restated the rules guiding capital funds to the committee. 
“The memo of 19th October 2010 to the Hon. Speaker on the payment of additional running cost for members was written in furtherance of the standing decisions of the Body of Principal Officers to source funds even by loan from the Appropriation Committee to make appropriate provisions in the budget. 
“Within the interval, the committee assured that they will reflect the funds in 2011 Budget. It was then agreed to source the funds and of course I raised the memo as an administrative function.
“After the loan(s) were obtained from UBA, the members were duly paid their enhanced running cost. The running cost of members before they increased it was N27million per member per quarter. They increased it to N42million per member per quarter and the difference of N15million per member per quarter also led to a shortfall that they will take the loan to abridge and pay members.” 
He said the House augmented payment of running cost with borrowed funds from the National Assembly management (N2.5b); Senate (N1.5b); and UBA (N6b). 
“By the second quarter of 2011, the sum of about N10.2b) representing two months allocation was released to UBA which had outstanding loan repayment from us to the tune of about N10.7b. The bank used the money to liquidate their loan. 
“This led to non-payment of members’ running cost and this created a lot of problem in the House. The House met on this issue in an Executive Session and resolved that the House should close its account with UBA and open another account with First Bank of Nigeria which then gave us a loan of N12billion to pay members’ running cost, suspended members’ outstanding running cost, services of the House and the balance of the loan from UBA. The House has paid off the UBA  loan. 
“There was no House resolution authorising the taking of initial loans. The Body of Principal Officers took that decision. 
Sani-Omolori gave details of how restiveness in the House forced Bankole and other leaders to source for the N12b, three days to the tenure of the 6th House. 
He added: “When members noticed the reluctance of the leadership to pay the new running cost, they threatened to remove the entire leadership of the House and in fact set aside a day in which if the leadership does not announce the date of payment of the running cost, they were all going to be removed. 
“On the morning of that day, the leadership resolved to obtain loan to pay the members. The meeting that took the decision was held in the Hon. Speaker’s Guest House in Asokoro and was attended by Hon. Dimeji Bankole; Usman Bayero Nafada; Tunde Akogun; Baba Agaie; Emeka Ihedioha; Aminu Tambuwal; and Mohammed Ali Nuke. 
“The Chairman of the House Appropriation Committee, Hon. Ayo Adeseun; the Chairman of the House Finance Committee, John Enoh; and the Chairman of the House Services Committee, Al-Makura were also in attendance.” 


Source : The Nation Newspaper