James Emejo in Abuja
The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) thursday said it had commenced procedure for issuance of an arrest warrant against the Managing Director/Chief Executive, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Dakuku Peterside, over his repeated refusal to appear before it.
Peterside was a former member of the green chamber.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Abubakar Nuhu Danburam (APC, Kano), said it would not condone a situation whereby government officials took them for granted.
He said several invitations had been extended to Peterside to appear and clarify issues raised concerning TSA remittances by his agency but never responded.
The committee last week summoned Peterside following his repeated failure to honour candid invitations.
Lawmakers were particularly amused that Peterside, a former member of the lower chamber could afford to jettison a summon from the House.
Danburam said: “Since he finds it comfortable not to respect our invitation and appear before us, we will approach the House to obtain an arrest warrant for him to be arrested and brought here.â€
He said some of the banks’ CEOs invited to the session could not make it but that unlike Peterside, they had communicated to the committee and that a new date would be set for them to appear.
The lawmakers further described as disheartening, a situation whereby government officials were shy away from their responsibilities of shedding light on matters bothering on their responsibilities.
