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NFIU: Senate puts the blame squarely on House if Nigeria is expelled

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Ten days to the meeting of members of Egmont Group, where Nigeria will be expelled, both chambers of the National Assembly are yet to transmit a bill to President Muhammadu Buhari which will grant full autonomy to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

The failure to transmit the bill, it was learnt, is as a result of a face-off between the Senate and the House of Representatives.

In July, 2017, the Egmont Group, suspended NFIU at its 24th plenary of the Heads in Macao.

Findings revealed that the disagreement between the Senate and House committees on Financial Crimes, is derailing moves by the Nigerian Government to beat the deadline.

It was learnt that while the Senate in its bill resolved that the NFIU be placed under the control of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the House of Representatives on the other hand wants it domiciled in EFCC, where it is currently attached.

The disagreement has also derailed a Conference Committee meeting between the two panels, where grey areas are expected to be resolved.

Expressing his frustrations on the floor of the Senate yesterday, chairman of the Senate committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes, Chukwuka Utazi, accused his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Kayode Oladele of frustrating his efforts.

Utazi warned that if Nigeria is expelled, the Senate should not be held responsible. He explained how Oladele has refused to turn up for a Conference Committee meeting twice.

Utazi lamented: “If Nigeria is expelled by the group, millions of bank depositors will be exposed to risk while trying to use their Nigerian-issued MasterCard and Visa debit/credit cards for international transactions

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“In July last year, Nigeria was suspended by Egmont Group with a threat to expel the country in March this year. This is coming up on the 11th of March, which is next week. If we do not put our house in order, we will be expelled.

“The expulsion will have severe consequences. Our financial banks will not be able to do anything. Our banks and foreign transactions will no longer amount to anything. We will be degraded. Even the corruption index we are complaining about will be a child’s play to what we are going to face in few day’s to come.

“This Senate passed this bill within a record period of 8 working days because of the importance and urgency. That was the first bill to have gotten such a speedy passage in this Senate. I came with a motion earlier to explain issues of what were on ground.

“The House of Representatives also took its time to pass this bill. A Conference Committee had been constituted. I have been calling my counterpart in the House of Representatives. The first meeting was stalled. They said the leadership was meeting over the issue.

“We called for another meeting. Each time I call for this meeting, my counterpart in the House of Representatives will always tell me that he’s attending one meeting or another. Even this morning, I sent him a message and he said he was attending a budget defence meeting. I’m told that this meeting was more important? He knows what is at stake.

“I am bringing this issue to public knowledge that this Senate is doing its job. This Senate is doing its duty. If anything should happen or Nigeria is suspended, it will not be as a result of the failure of the Senate to act on this issue.”

President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, who presided, said he will meet with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, to mandate Oladele to attend the Conference Committee report.

Saraki said both chambers will speed up the process and ensure that the bill is transmitted to President Buhari for assent before the expiration of the deadline issued by Egmont Group.

“This matter has been discussed at the leadership level and a Conference Committee was set up. I am surprised that this meeting has not taken place. I will meet with the Speaker of the House of Representatives and I will remind him of the decision we took so that he can direct the chairman in the House of Representatives on this.

“Both of you will work on it as fast as you can so that we can transmit this bill to the President before the next Egmont meeting in order to save this country. We will take action,” Saraki promised.

 

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