Samuel Anyanwu who represented Imo East in the 8th Senate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP said on Tuesday, July 28, 2020, that he has concluded arrangements with his lawyers to write the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio to retract his statement and failure to do that, they will meet in Court.
Anyanwu said, “I tried calling him a couple of times, he has never taken my calls. I chose to confront him first before going to the press.
“By tomorrow( today) or next tomorrow, my lawyers are going to write to Akpabio to retract it or give us the facts after which if he doesn’t do anything about this, I will take the next step.”
Anyanwu, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions in the 8th Senate, was one of the Lawmakers listed on Monday by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio and the executive director, Projects, Cairo Ojougboh of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC as one of those who benefited from contracts awarded by the Commission.
Addressing Journalists on Monday, July 27, 2020, in Abuja, Senator Anyanwu who lampooned Akpabio for mentioning his name, said that he never got a contract from the Commission even as a member of the Niger Delta Affairs Committee in the last Senate, however, said that if the Minister is educated enough, he should come up with the contracts, name of the companies as registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, the bank where the money was paid into, among others.
The Senator who noted that some of them are still Suffering and being sought after, with plans to humiliate them because they supported the former President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki during the 8th National Assembly.
Senator Anyanwu who warned Akpabio to stop insulting and blackmailing people said, “Because I am a politician, and a prominent one for that matter, in my state and Nigeria, I choose to clear the air on the so-called allegation that I benefited from contracts by NDDC.
“First I was shocked to hear my name. Very shocked that honourable Minister of Niger Delta could mention my name that I was awarded contracts. “First of all I am from Imo state, Imo state is one of the oil-producing states and a member of NDDC, if you remember, it was because of the suffering of the south-east that I moved and sponsored the bill for South-East Development Commission and I was a member of the committee on NDDC.
The current minister of Niger Delta affairs was also a member and was the minority leader of the senate.
“As a member of the committee on NDDC, I attracted projects to my constituency, no contract was ever awarded to me, the beneficiaries of these contracts are my people that I represent, Imo east who are members of the Niger Delta and I challenge the honourable minister and NDDC to go through their records if there was any contract awarded to me or any dime traceable to me.
So it is disheartening, so as politicians you have political enemies who would act on these to work against you and that is why I feel very very hurt on this issue and I felt I had to clear the air and so you hear my side of the story.
“Some of those projects that I attracted to my constituency, I had complaints, from even the contractors that NDDC has not paid them even a dime and I have it on good authority that NDDC does not pay mobilisation for contracts.
“I am using this medium to call on NDDC to go to my constituency and complete the projects they have started.
“It was only three names I saw, Senator Matthew Urhoghide, Chairman of the committee, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi and Senator James Manager and we were about 18 members in that Committee. Even James Manager was not even a member of the committee.
“If there are issues, I feel the honourable minister is educated enough, please let us see the projects, the contracts, name of the companies, the bank where the money was paid, CAC is there, why do you have to insult people like that? “I am no longer in the Senate, almost two years, I have left and managing my quiet life and watching what Nigeria will turn out to be.
So if you have issues with the national assembly members, which I understand since he became a minister he has, that has nothing to do with me.
“Before we left, our position with Saraki that is part of the things we are suffering today. That’s the truth. I am the only one not in the Senate why mention my name when I have nothing to do with it, I felt very very hurt.”
Source: Vanguard
