The Federal House of Representatives has said it will sue the minister of Niger Delta affairs, Godswill Akpabio, for failing to name lawmakers he claimed to have gotten contracts from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Akpabio, while appearing before the panel probing the NDDC on Monday, alleged that most of the contracts awarded by the commission went to federal lawmakers.
On Tuesday, the speaker of the house, Femi Gbajabiamila, subsequently gave the minister 48 hours to name the lawmakers or face “the wrath of the house”.
Speaking on the floor of the house on Thursday, Gbajabiamila said he will not allow anyone “assassinate the character of the house”.
“This morning, I asked the clerk of the house of representatives to engage the services of legal counsel, and instruct them to initiate a criminal complaint of perjury against the minister,” the speaker said.
“At the same time, we will instruct counsel to explore the possibility of a civil defamation suit against the Minister.
“The house of representatives is a public trust placed in our care for the duration of our term in office. We must prove ourselves worthy of this public trust or risk the censure of history.
“Therefore, we will resist every attempt to undermine this institution, whether such attempts come from within or from outside. This house will live up to the highest expectations of the Nigerian people. This is our commitment, and we will not fail.”
