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Senator slaps
colleague over committee money N1.2m
By Adetutu
Folasade-Koyi
and Paul Mumeh, Abuja
Senators were on
Thursday treated to their own dose of corruption charges when, in full public
glare, the chairman and the vice chairman of the Senate Committee on States and
Local Government Administration fought over committee funds.
Committee Vice
Chairman Isah Mohammed (PDP, Niger South) openly slapped his Chairman Iyabode
Anisulowo (PDP, Ogun West) over alleged misappropriation of N1.2 million of
committee funds.
Mohammed had accused
Anisulowo of spending committee funds without informing members of the
committee.
He accused her of
withdrawing N700,000 and N500,000 at different times without taking cognisance
of the welfare of the support staff of the committee.
It was learnt that
before the committee visited Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Thursday,
Mohammed had tried, in vain, to attract Anisulowo’s attention over the
matter. Failing in the bid, he followed her to the foyer, where senators
normally board their vehicles and tapped her on the back.
The unsuspecting
Anisulowo turned only to receive a slap on the face.
She moved to grab her
assailant by the collar of his shirt but was prevented from further action by
her other colleagues present.
Another very prominent
senator from the assailant’s state (names withheld) who was at the scene
of the incident immediately jumped into his car and took off.
Initially Anisulowo
refused to comment on the matter when approached as she said: “Go and
write what you said you saw. I am not ready to discuss anything now”.
Hours after the
incident, however, and after due consultation with the Senate leadership,
Anisulowo confirmed that she was indeed slapped by her colleague.
Apparently, she
reported the incident to the deputy senate president, Ibrahim Mantu. She also
consulted with other colleagues before returning to meet journalists.
Her words: “We
were going to pay a courtesy call on the vice president and we had made all the
preparations. I was coming from the vehicle and somebody told me that Senator
Mohammed wanted to see me. When we met, he slapped me”.
Asked what was her
reaction to the assault, she replied: “I didn’t do anything. I was
provoked but what will I do? I have already told the deputy Senate president
about it before I am now talking to you, though I didn’t inform him that
I would talk to the press. He slapped me before telling me the reason why he
slapped me. The left part of my face is still aching. I have been to the
hospital and I have reported the incident at the police station”.
Anisulowo stated that
recourse to legal action is not totally ruled out. “I am a notable woman
in the society for any man to slap with such injustice. I am not taking things
lying low. I am going to court”.
But Mohammed denied
slapping her. He said he only queried her action for spending committee funds
without informing other members.
“Is it your
father’s money, why are you spending the money as you like? Why are you
spending the committee money without consulting other members? he claimed he
asked her.
Mohammed’s
grouse is said to stem from the fact that the committee’s support staff
have been sweating for the committee without any form of appreciation while
funds for the committee were being spent “inappropriately.”
His position has
always been that the committee staff be rewarded in some form but this has not
been done, a member said anonymously. But another countered that even that did
not constitute enough reason for his action. “There are avenues to sort
that out,” he insisted.
Acting Senate Leader
Jonathan Zwingina described the action as “unfortunate”.
Said he: “It is
most unfortunate but Isa Mohammed is a multi-millionaire. In as much as it
didn’t happen in the chambers, I think it should be treated as a case of
inter-personal matter between the two of them”.
Even then, it was
gathered that the matter would be tabled for discussion before the senate on Tuesday, notwithstanding that
it happened outside the chambers. “It happened in the premises of the
Senate, it involves senators and the issue at stake is about a senate
committee, so we have to look into it and take appropriate action”, a
source said.
Chairman Senate
Committee on Information Tawal Umbi Wada declined comment, saying the matter
has not been brought to his notice.
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