From Emmanuel Adeyemi Lokoja

The Kogi State House of Assembly has threatened to issue a warrant of arrest against the State Commissioner for Finance Asiru Idris if he fails to appear before members of the house next week Thursday.

The position of the lawmakers followed a motion by the Chairman House Special Committee on Public Account, Hilarion Collins Musa on the need to compel the commissioner to appear before the house.

Musa, who is the lawmaker representing Igalamela Odolu Constituency i
said that the commissioner has constantly disregarded the summons of the house and if he failed to appear a warrant of arrest be issued on him.

According to the lawmaker “The Committee had invited the Commissioner, the invitation duly served, but refused without a word to the Committee to appear before the Committee. In return, he invited the Committee to a meeting at the Revenue House and, thereon, the Committee made demands of specific evidences pursuant to its consideration of the Report by the State Auditor General on the Audited Accounts of the State.

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“The Rt. Hon. Speaker and distinguished Hon Colleagues, it is now over 6 months, the Commissioner has neither replied nor availed the Committee with the evidences required for further consideration of the Report by the State Auditor General.

“I, therefore, move that the Hon. Commissioner, by the powers confer on this State House of Assembly, be compelled firstly by the Resolution of this House to appear before the Committee and secondly upon his failure to act accordingly, be compelled through the issuance of Warrant in line with Section 129 (1) (d) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended to appear accordingly”.

In a unanimous decision, the lawmakers agreed that the commissioner’s failure not to honour the invitation of the committee was an affront to the house.

The speaker, Prince Matthew Kolawole in his ruling said the house has the right in accordance with the law to invite anyone and as such the commissioner is not exempted from those the house can not invite.

Kolawole however directed the clerk to communicate the commissioner to appear before the house in its next legislative sitting or face the wrath of the Assembly.