The Senate has resolved to issue arrest warrants for the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack; Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi; and the Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, for failing to appear before its Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions.
Other public agencies whose heads risk arrest warrants include Union Homes Savings and Loans Plc, Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, and Sally Best Properties Limited.
This decision followed complaints raised by Senator Neda Imasuen, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, during a plenary session.
Senator Imasuen lamented that several invitations sent to these ministries, agencies, and officials to address petitions filed against them by aggrieved Nigerians or corporate bodies had been ignored repeatedly.
Senator Imasuen, in a motion under Senate Order 42, expressed frustration over the refusal of these officials to honor the Senate’s invitations and called on the Senate to authorize the issuance of arrest warrants. Senate President Godswill Akpabio promptly granted the request, citing Section 89 of the 1999 Constitution, which empowers the Senate to take such action.
“You already have the power as provided by Section 89 of the Constitution. Please use it by issuing a warrant of arrest against any head of agencies refusing to appear before the public petition committee,” Akpabio stated.
Following the Senate’s mandate, Senator Imasuen announced that fresh letters of invitation had been sent to the affected officials, warning that arrest warrants would be issued if they failed to appear.
He also mentioned that the committee would address a petition this week involving the withholding of a student’s results by JAMB, based on an alleged vindictive report by an examination supervisor.
